Bake-Along #43: Frozen Choco PB Oat Breakfast Bars

No real baking required to get these hearty breakfast bars! For tips and to bake-along live, just follow along with the video.

Prep: 10 minutes

Refrigerate: 30 minutes

Freeze: 30 minutes (overnight if you have the time!)

Frozen Choco PB Oat Breakfast Bars Ingredients*

(Yield: 8 breakfast bars)

1 cup oats

1/2 cup flax meal

1/2 cup peanut butter

1 T cocoa powder

1 T chocolate protein powder (with chia seeds)**

2 T honey

1 t vanilla extract

8x8 or 9x9 inch square pan OR a cookie scoop OR two spoons!

Foil

1. Line your pan with foil, ensuring that you leave some overhand on two opposing sides to help you remove the bars from their pan. (If any portion of the pan isn't covered spray it with some cooking spray).

2. Put all ingredients into a medium sized bowl and mix just until combined. To see my consistency head to the 6:45 mark.

3. Pour the mixture into your prepared pan and gently pat it flat using your fingers or knuckles. (If you are making these with a cookie scoop, leave your mixture in the bowl and put the whole bowl into the refrigerator).

4. Wrap in plastic rap and refrigerate for at least 30 minutes.

5. Remove the pan from the refrigerator and then remove your bars from your pan using the overhung foil. (If you are using a cookie scoop, form 8 balls and freeze them on prepared pan).

6. Cut into 8 bars (or as many as you'd like!) and return the bars to the pan. To see how I cut mine, head to the 7:27 mark (I cut once down the center, then turned my pan 90° and cut again down the center. Then I cut each of those halves in half again for 8 total bars).

7. Wrap and freeze the bars for at least 30 minutes.***

8. If you don't like the crunch of the frozen bar allow to sit at room temperature for 10 minutes before diving in to the hearty bars.

9. Once the bars are frozen in shape in the pan you can transfer them to another container or a plastic bag and return them to the freezer.

10. These last for 2 months in the freezer -- a perfect grab-and-go breakfast and a great way to start the day!

11. Enjoy every bite!

Notes:

• *I spend some time in the beginning talking about substitutions you can make and more time at the end talking about how you can gussy these up.

• **You can use 1 T more of cocoa powder and add 1/2 T of chia seeds, or omit the chia seeds altogether. You can also just go for hot cocoa mix. No judgment here! Make it your own!

• ***I recommend making these the night before you'd first like to eat them!