Cookie Bars

Our cookie recipe has mutated. I wanted to see if I could make it even easier. Achieved!

I used to make the cookie mixture and then drop small teaspoons of it onto a cookie sheet, however, I wanted to see what would happen if I just spread the mixture over the baking sheet and baked it – more like making brownies – and finally truly make a bar replacement. Well, I prefer this option so much more. It is faster and I can make the bars as small or as large as I want. I actually wanted to make them really small, so this 9″x13″ sheet was divided into 80 mini bars. I tried a few different things to cut the bars, but what worked best was the PChef Nylon Knife. I don’t use it much, but it is going to get a lot more use now.

The recipe below, I have figured out, is my favorite and I’ve made it the last few times. This recipe is only slightly different from the original since it fits the 9″x13″ Baking Sheet and makes more cookies or now BARS:

Oatmeal Banana Bars (previously cookies)

Ingredients
5 bananas, ripe
1 3/4 cup quick oats
1/4 cup irish quick oats
1/2 tsp cinnamon
45 g almond butter
3/4 cup cranberries
3/4 cup almonds
3/4 cup chocolate chips

Directions
Mix ingredients together in order listed. Lightly grease baking sheet. Spread mixture evenly over baking sheet. Bake for 18 minutes at 350°F (a little extra baking time needed to be added).

Note: More quick oats can be substituted for the Irish quick oats.