Name: Apple Cinnamon Breakfast Bars
Prep time: 10 min
Cook time: 30 min
Total time: 40 min
Ingredients: 2 1/2 cups Rolled Oats; 1/3 cup Maple Syrup; 1 Apple (Grated); 2 tsp Baking Powder; 1/2 tsp Salt; 1 Tbsp Cinnamon; 1 cup Unsweetened Vanilla Almond Milk; 2 Eggs; 2 Tbsp Coconut Oil; 1 tsp Vanilla; 2 Tbsp Chia Seeds

Full of apples, oatmeal, and cinnamon, these apple cinnamon breakfast bars are super filling and delicious! These bars are refined sugar free, dairy free, and gluten free! If you need a change from your normal breakfast rut, look no further!

What You'll Need to Make These Bars

You only need a few simple ingredients to make these delicious breakfast bars!

Dry Ingredients

Rolled Oats- Double check your rolled oats to make sure they are gluten free. If you have a gluten intolerance, use whatever type of oats you like. If you don't have a gluten intolerance, use the best type of rolled oats you can find. Mostly importantly to note, do not use instant oats. They will just disintegrate and not give you the great texture and chew that the rolled oats give you.

Chia Seeds- Did you know chia seeds are loaded with fiber, protein, and omega-3 fatty acids? Sneak them in where ever you can!

Wet Ingredients

Maple Syrup- Since this is the only type of sugar we have in the bars, try to use the best quality maple syrup you can find. We head to Maine every Summer and at the end of the Summer we go to a sugar shack close to our house and buy a jug of maple syrup to use throughout the winter.

Apples- I used gala apples because of the added sweetness that they bring. Similarly, you could also use Fuji or Golden delicious apples. On the other hand, I would stay away from apples like Granny Smith because of how tart they are. The apples add sweetness that granulated sugar would normally bring, so you want to make sure the apples aren't tart.

Almond Milk- Use unsweetened vanilla extract here to loosen the batter up a bit and make them more of a cakey bar. You could use regular almond milk, just up the amount of vanilla extract you use. If you only had regular milk on hand, that would work perfectly here too.

Gluten free dairy free and refined sugar free

How to Make these Bars

No heavy machinery is needed for these! And by heavy machinery I mean stand mixer or hand mixer, of course. All you need to do is add everything to a bowl and mix it up! First add the oats and maple syrup. Then, peel and grate the apple into the same bowl. Mix the ingredients to combine. Then add everything else to the bowl and mix to combine. Prepare a 9x13 inch baking pan by either spraying it or lining the pan with parchment paper. Pour the mixture into the prepared pan and bake at 350 degrees for 30 minutes. You'll know the bars are done when the edges are brown. Allow the bars to cool for a bit before you cut them so they stay together better. Serve immediately or keep in an air tight container for up to 5 days. Enjoy!

Variations on these Bars

I highly recommend you get creative with these bars! They are so versatile and therefore, can have tons of different variations. Consider adding chocolate chips, walnuts, raisins, or even topping them with salted caramel sauce. Any dried fruit or nut could be added to these bars to make them even more delicious!

Not a fan of chia seeds? No worries! Leave them out or substitute sunflower seeds or pumpkin seeds. If you don't have coconut oil, you can use regular butter or you can use your favorite oil, such as avocado or light olive oil.

Instead of making these into bars, you could make them into cookies. Spoon some batter onto cookie sheets prepared with a silicon mat. Bake them for 15 minutes or until the edges start to brown. Yum!