Carrot Oat Bars
We love having easy breakfast options for mornings when we don’t have the energy or time to make a full, warm breakfast for the kids. I was originally looking for something über healthy, but then scratched that plan in lieu of something I thought they would actually eat.
This bar could easily be a dessert stand-in, but it’s got oats and honey and not too much refined sugar, so I’d still vouch for this as a breakfast option too. I did a light, cream cheese frosting but you could very easily nix that and freeze them. They last about a week with the frosting, refrigerated in a sealed container.
They don’t take too long to put together, and it makes one 9×9 pan, or about 20 kid-sized bars. It’s a reasonable amount for a first attempt, and my kids liked it so much I will probably double it in a 13×9 pan next time [updates on that soon].
Carrot Oat Bars
Ingredients
For the bars
- 1 cup brown sugar
- 1 tablespoon vanilla extract
- 1 stick butter, melted
- 1 egg
- 2 teaspoons cinnamon
- 1/2 teaspoon EACH: ginger, clove, and allspice
- 1/4 teaspoon nutmeg
- 1/8 teaspoon kosher salt
- 1 cup AP flour
- 1 cup carrot, grated this was roughly 4 medium carrots
- 1/2 cup rolled oats
- 2 tablespoons honey
For the cream cheese frosting [optional]
- 1 cup powdered sugar
- 1 tablespoon cream cheese
- 1 tablespoon butter
- milk, as needed
Instructions
Prepare the pan and preheat the oven.
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Cover the bottom of a 9×9 cake pan in tin foil and grease the tin foil.
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Preheat the oven to 350F.
Prepare the batter
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Whisk together the brown sugar, vanilla extract, and melted butter in a large bowl. Add the egg in and whisk thoroughly.
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In a smaller bowl, sift together the spices, salt, and flour.
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Grate the carrot finely and whisk it into the wet ingredients.
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In a measuring cup, stir the oats with the honey and add them to the wet ingredients, again stirring well.
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Fold the dry ingredients into the wet ingredients and stir until combined.
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Pour batter into the prepared pan and bake for 26 minutes.
Make the frosting [optional]
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Using a pastry blender or fork, combine the sugar, cream cheese, and butter until completely blended. Be sure to incorporate the butter entirely. Add milk as needed, in teaspoons, to get the desired consistency.
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When the bars are cooled, spread the frosting over the entirety in and even layer, or alternatively, pipe out in a decorative fashion.
Recipe Notes
In the refrigerator: This will keep with the frosting in a sealed container for one week.
In the freezer: These will keep for 6 months, well wrapped, without frosting.
