No-Bake Oat Bars

I know Spring hasn’t quite made an appearance for everyone yet. (My younger daughter attends college in SD. Her birthday was earlier this week. She complained it was snowing that day.)

Regardless the weather, it’s great for cooks and bakers to have no-bake cookies in their repertoire. A recipe is even better if you don’t have to cook it either. Those hot summer days are not so far away. Who wants to stand by a stove cooking anything?

The following recipe came out of a vegetarian cookbook my mom used to have. A while back she loaned it to someone who felt they had more need of it than she did, so I can’t tell you the name of the book or its author. My mom purchased it in the early 1970s so the odds that it might still be available are pretty slim.

My brother and I used to like making these cookies when we were kids. It requires one bowl and a silicone spatula for mixing the ingredients, plus a few measuring devices. So it doesn’t create a lot of dishes. If you’re just introducing your kids to the kitchen this is a great recipe to start with since it’s not necessary to use sharp tools. They can learn how to measure ingredients, easily stir everything, then pour and smooth out into a small pan. I would recommend chilling the bars before attempting to eat them, so there won’t be instant gratification. However, everything comes together very quickly, making this recipe ideal for short attentions spans. (Or adults who need to make a dessert in a hurry.)

A brief note about the original recipe: It calls for ½ c. of margarine. Margarine is a highly processed ingredient. For that reason I don’t use it for anything. Instead of bars, these cookies were shaped into balls and rolled in coconut. If you use the ingredients I recommend, you will see why bars are definitely easier.

¾ c. Honey

½ c. Coconut Oil, melted (Organic Extra Virgin)

1/8 tsp. Salt

1 tsp. Vanilla

1 c. Natural Peanut Butter (I like crunchy.)

3 c. Old-fashioned Rolled Oats

1 c. Semi-sweet Chocolate chips (Optional. Cut the oatmeal to 2 ½ c. if using.)

Unsweetened Coconut

Put all the wet ingredients in a bowl and mix thoroughly. Stir in the oatmeal and chocolate chips. Sprinkle coconut over the bottom of a 9” x 9” pan. Pour the oatmeal mixture over the coconut. Be careful not to disturb the coconut too much. Sprinkle more coconut over the top of the bars and chill until firm.

For those who are gluten-free or on the Paleo diet, coconut is probably the most likely substitute for the oatmeal. You will still want coconut on the top and bottom of the bars so your fingers don’t get too messy while eating these. The peanut butter can be substituted with the nut or sunbutter of your choice. Want to cut the honey back a bit? Try ½ c. and decrease your dry ingredients a bit. You can always add more if the batch looks too runny.

The Project Queen