hungry mom bars.

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or hungry anybody bars. but i am a hungry MOM and these are my BARZ.

these have saved my soul this past year of constant baby-rearing and breastfeeding. when you get “kinda hungry” as a new breastfeeding mother, you are SO VERY HUNGRY right NOW and need sustenance NOW. or else! enter hungry mom bars.

depending what your wild wake-up, sleep or nap schedule is like with a new baby, i’ve personally found myself reaching for these around 10-11am, or between breakfast and lunch when the coffee jitters are setting in and all the food from brekkie has immediately metabolized into thin air.

or maybe one in the late afternoon. and hey maybe a little niblet for dessert. the chocolate chips do make it feel like more of a treatzie and less of a LaMe gRaNoLa BaR. plus, if you add cocoa powder to the whole mixture, they’re a real chocolatey delight.

there was a time when i was fully addicted to a similar bar that we’d buy from a fruit stand in seattle, called all day bars. i hope that you still exist, all day bars! i have never forgotten you.

i’m a sucker for oaty, chocolatey, peanut buttery things. no-bake cookies are probably the top “dessert” item made around here. just so easy and satisfying, with an excellent texture.

also, in the new mom realm, oats are supposedly good for lactation, so there’s that.

this recipe has a bonus caramel recipe built right in!!! check out the instructions below, but you can have yourself a very convincing, 1 bowl, no heat caramel sauce in 5 minutes with 4 or 5 ingredients. adjust the salt to your liking!

i used to make these peanut butter date energy balls allllllllll the time. pretty much every week to keep in the fridge and bring a couple to work to have with coffee. what a funny and sensible portion that was. now, i am unabashedly stuffing my face with these giant bricks. and i love that for myself. and for you.

and of course these are so customizable with the nuts and seeds and stuff that you like. as long as you’re getting the consistency right, the mixture is able to hold together firmly, slice up and not crumble everywhere…then you’re doing it right.

Hungry Mom Bars

Makes One 8x6” Tray (Hefty 1” thick bars)

Total Time: 30-45 minutes

Ingredients:

  • 1 cup peanut butter

  • 1 cup honey

  • 2 tsp. Diamond Kosher salt / 1 tsp. Mortons Kosher salt

  • 3 TB cocoa powder (optional, for a chocolatey version)

  • 1 TB vanilla extract

    (***For a delicious caramel recipe, stir the above ingredients together until very smooth, and stop here! Store in a glass jar for an ice cream or fruit topping, etc.)

  • 2 cups finely chopped dates (24-30 medium sized pitted dates, soaked in a bowl of hot water)

  • 1/4 cup of date soaking liquid

  • 1/2 tsp cinnamon (optional)

  • 1 cup finely chopped unsalted almonds or hazelnuts

  • 2/3 cup whole unsalted pepitas

  • 1/2 cup unsalted sunflower seeds

  • 2/3 cup sweetened (or unsweetened if preferred) shredded coconut, roughly chopped - I like the chew factor of sweetened coconut.

  • 1 cup chocolate chips or chopped chocolate of your choice

  • 3 cups old fashioned rolled oats (not minute oats)

Instructions -

In a medium bowl, allow the pitted dates to soak covered in hot water for about 10 minutes, until plump and softened. Reserve at least 1/4 cup of the date soaking liquid before discarding.

Toasting is an optional extra credit step. If desired, measure and toast the oats, nuts and seeds on a large rimmed sheet tray at 350 degrees F until fragrant (about 8-10 minutes total) tossing with a spatula halfway through and sprinkling everything lightly with cinnamon and a hefty pinch of salt.

In a large bowl, stir the honey, peanut butter, kosher salt, cocoa powder (if using), and vanilla extract until smooth and it resembles caramel.

(Actually, it pretty much is caramel at this point. If you want to just stop here, store the caramel in a jar in the fridge! Use as a fruit dip or on ice cream, etc. Very tasty.)

Chop the soaked dates well and add to the peanut butter honey mixture along with about 1/4 cup of the date soaking liquid. Stir everything to combine. Stir in cinnamon, if desired.

Add in the chopped nuts, whole pepitas, seeds and coconut and mix to combine. Finally, add the old fashioned oats and mix well until all ingredients are incorporated and evenly dispersed. If the mixture seems too dry, add a touch more of the date soaking liquid. If too wet, add a handful more of oats and/or coconut flakes until the consistency seems firm, holds together when you pinch it, and is not too sticky.

Press into a parchment lined 8x6” ish rimmed tray (or another similar size, depending how thick or thin you’d prefer the bars to be). Chill for about 30 minutes to firm up.

Alternatively, you could roll the mixture into balls and store chilled in an airtight container.

After the bars are chill and firm, I use a metal bench scraper with some cooking spray to uniformly cut the bars into rectangles. Sometimes I will wrap each one individually in plastic wrap so they are ready to grab from the fridge when I am hangry!

These freeze GREAT as well. I almost prefer them out of the freezer because the texture is still pleasant and chewy, not hard or crunchy.

This recipe makes pretty big batch that lasts me about 2 weeks, depending how often I’m needing one. I know that 1 cup of honey seems like a ton, so just cut the recipe in half if you are interested in trying it out.

enjoy!

qp