Baked Banana Bars Recipe

Charlotte says: “I love an on-the-go brekkie idea and these porridge bars have been such a hit with my kids. They work great as a snack as well, and are very easy to put together. They take a little time on the cooking front, but next to no time to prep, and are well worth it. They freeze well so are perfect for batch-cooking, and you can vary what you make them with according to what you have in your fridge!”

Makes:

24 small squares or 12 bars

Hands-on time:

5 minutes

Cook time:

45–55 minutes

Ingredients

100g porridge oats
180ml milk of choice
2 large, very ripe bananas (around 200g in total)
85g sultanas (or raisins, chopped dates, chopped dried apricots)
½ tsp mixed spice (or ground cinnamon or nutmeg)
3 tbsp mixed seeds (ground for babies/toddlers)

Method

1. Preheat the oven to 180°C/160°C fan and line a 20cm square shallow baking tin with non-stick baking paper. Mix all the ingredients together (except the seeds), then mash it well with a fork to completely break up the bananas. Once everything is well mixed, scoop it into the baking tin and level the top. Sprinkle the mixed seeds on top (leave off or grind if serving to babies and young children).

2. Bake for 50–55 minutes, until the top is golden and crisp. Once cooked, remove from the tin using the baking paper and leave to cool on a rack until either warm or cooled to room temperature.

3. Slice into 24 small squares, or 12 larger bars to serve. The bars will keep in an airtight container for up to 3 days, or can be wrapped in cling film/beeswax and frozen individually, then defrosted on the counter overnight ready for the morning. You can also reheat them uncovered in a microwave for 30 seconds if you’d like them warm.

For babies and young children: They should be okay with the texture of these as soon as they have moved on to slightly more complex finger foods. Avoid whole seeds, offer them ground instead, or simply leave them off any of the bars/squares that are for your baby/toddler.

Extracted from How to Feed Your Family by Charlotte Stirling-Reed (£18.99, Ebury Press)

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