Written by: Amanda Carmen

I found this amazing recipe for oatmeal breakfast cookies.  The original recipe calls them granola bars, but I try not to call things that I make with traditional store-bought names because I think what I make at home is much healthier, and I want my kids to know the difference.

I adapted this recipe for soaking, and changed a few other amounts to suit my needs after the soaking, but the results were fabulous.  I somehow still ended up with exactly what the original recipe yields – 15 cookies.  This is a great on-the-go breakfast, especially if you have a large family.  I think it is important to eat protein at breakfast, so I especially love that this recipe has plenty of protein in it by way of nuts.

Almond meal is ground almonds.  If you have a coffee grinder you can place a handful of almonds in at a time, and grind until have have a fine flour.  You can also use a food processor, but the coffee grinder works better because you aren't using a large amount.  I doubled this recipe, and after I made one pan of 15 cookies, I added a handful of chocolate chips to the remaining batter to make a sweet treat too.

I used a combination of dried apples, prunes and raisins for the dried fruit.  I used pecans and almonds for my chopped nuts, and I tend to chop very finely because I have a child that prefers not to eat food with nuts.  She didn't even notice.  These were gone way too fast in my house, and it is a recipe we will make again and again.  I only used 4 bananas in the doubled recipe.  I think because I used a food processor, and didn't just mash the bananas, it thins the banana out and you need less.

Experiment and enjoy!