These low sugar Peanut Blackberry Oat Bars with Cacao make a delicious Healthy Lunchbox Idea or after school snack your child will love.
PEANUT BUTTER OAT BARS WITH CACAO
Today’s recipe is Peanut Blackberry Oat Bars with Cacao. Being a parent I know just how challenging it can be to come up with delicious as well as healthy lunchbox ideas. Most commercially produced snacks contain too much sugar or fat or salt, so even though kids love them their nutritional value is very low most of the time. I am happy to say that this recipe is 100% ‘kid approved’. My son came back from school today, devoured a couple of these straight away and asked if he could take some to school tomorrow!
What I love about creating healthy snack recipes such as this one is that I can sneak lots of nutritious ingredients into them without making it too obvious (food that’s perceived as ‘healthy’ is not very popular in my house), as long as the flavours and proportions are right.
None of the ingredients in this recipe overshadow the rest, so there is just a hint of fruit and peanut butter, you can’t really taste the banana (I used it mainly as a sweetener), and there are subtle dark chocolate notes somewhere in there too.
These bars are moderately sweet but you can add more honey if you like (or even swap it for maple or agave syrup). The best thing to do to decide whether they are sweet enough is to taste the mixture before tipping it into the baking tin.
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I used cacao in this recipe simply because it’s more nutritious than cocoa, but you can use either.
These Peanut Blackberry Oat Bars with Cacao have a soft, slightly moist and chewy texture, so once the mixture has baked and cooled completely it’s easy to cut it into different shapes (and get the kids involved). I chose a geometrical theme, but you can use most cookie cutters. These bars not only make a great lunchbox idea but can also be enjoyed as an after school snack . You can wrap them in paper and keep in the fridge for a couple of days.
I am bringing this recipe to #CookBlogShare, hosted this week by Eb@Easy Peasy Foodie. Also sharing with Fiesta Friday.
- 180 g blackberries
- 4 tablespoons crunchy peanut butter
- 1 ripe banana mashed
- 1.5 cups rolled oats
- 1.5 tablespoons cacao or cocoa
- 2/3 cup almond flakes a little less than a cup
- 50 g butter plus a knob for greasing the tin
- 5 tablespoons honey
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Preheat the oven to 325 F/ 170 C/ gas mark 3. Lightly grease a square 20cm tin (or equivalent), line with baking paper and set aside.
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In a saucepan combine the blackberries, butter, banana, honey and cocoa, and cook over a low heat for about 7-8 minutes, squashing the blackberries with the back of a spoon or fork, stirring often. Remove from the heat.
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In a large bowl combine the fruit mixture with the oats and almond flakes, stir thoroughly, then pack the mixture tightly into the baking tin. Smooth out the top with the back of a spoon or spatula and bake for 25 minutes.
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Remove from the oven and let cool before cutting into bars (or other shapes).
Pin this recipe so you can always find it!
Wow! What an unusual recipe combo…. I would never have thought of combining blackberry with peanut butter, but it sounds lovely. Great for using foraged seasonal fruit too!
Thanks! Fruit tastes great with peanut butter – it’s the most loved flavour combination among North American kids (peanut butter jelly sandwiches!)
Never, in the deep dark recesses of my mind, have I ever thought to put together peanut butter and black berries together. You’re quite a mad woman and I like it. Sounds like a perfect hiking food to me. I believe I may give it a shot, thanks!
Thanks! I love to experiment with new flavours and strive to be as mad as possible:)
I love the use of cacao! This sounds really good! Thanks for sharing, Monika! Happy Fiesta Friday!
Thank you Jhuls! Happy FF:)
They sound really good! We all love flapjacks in my house and I try and sneak in goodness into them that is not too obvious lol These will be perfect! x
Thank you! Yes, these are flapjacks of sorts:)
What a fab idea and I love the colour!! Love a healthy snack idea 🙂 Thanks for linking them up to #CookBlogShare. Eb x
Anything with peanuts and I am there! Along with the kids! The blueberries sounds great and the bars look delicious 🙂
Thank you Petra:)
I love the purple of your oat bars from the blackberries, it gives such a vibrant colour. These or uare just the type of snack my children would like too f (though I avoid peanuts due to allergy, so I could swap for almond butter maybe, since there is no problem with those).
Thank you Lucy, I am sure almond butter would be fine, and it’d probably also add more sweetness to them.
Sounds delicious! Love the color too. I’m always saying i need to make more bars because my kids love them so much. This looks like a good place to start.
Thank you! Bars are so easy to make and you can get the kids to help, which is always good:)