Banana Oat Bars

Sometimes, I feel the need to make something "healthier" or at least more nutritious and also, I love oat bars. They are perfect for breakfast or as a snack. These oat bars are soft and not too sweet, they are just as much as they need to be. The recipe is coming from my favorite Greek pastry chef and maybe the most famous one in Greece: Stelios Parliaros. He makes all kinds of things from easy to very difficult. I love making his recipes because they always have a perfect balance of everything and some flavor combinations I wouldn’t think about.

This recipe is a really easy one. The original was with mashed strawberries, but my ripe bananas needed to be used instead. They made a great couple with the chocolate chips and I bet they would be also great dipped in chocolate.

Banana Oat Bars

Recipe adapted from here

150 g butter

70 g brown sugar

60 g  honey or golden syrup

350 g porridge oats

½ teaspoon baking  powder

½ teaspoon cinnamon

300 g bananas

¼ cup chocolate chips or raisins

Start by mashing the bananas with a potato masher or a fork. Add the cinnamon and set aside.

 Preheat the oven to 180 ^o C/ 355 ^o F. Line a 20 cm (8 inches) square pan with baking paper.

 Melt the butter in a saucepan in low heat along with the sugar and the honey. Stir the mixture until the butter melts and the sugar dissolves. Remove from heat and add the oats, baking powder, the banana mixture and the raisins or chocolate chips. Pour the mixture into the pan and squash down.

Bake for about 25 minutes or until golden brown. Let it cool and cut into 10 bars.