2 c quick oats

1 c flour

3/4 c brown sugar (we do 1/2 c)

1/2 t salt

1/2 t cinnamon

1/2 c nuts and/or coconut (optional)

1/2 c chocolate chips (optional)

3/4 c raisins or craisins (optional)

To be more healthy do 1/2 c wheat germ (I do just a couple dashes from the jar) and throw in some powdered milk (1/4 to 1/3 c) for extra calcium.

Mix in big bowl, in another bowl combine:

1/2 c oil (I do 1/3 if I do peanut butter)

1/2 c honey (I do 1/3 sometimes)

1 egg (do 2 if it looks too dry)

2 t vanilla (or 1 t vanilla, 1 t almond extract)

1/3 to 1/2 cup peanut butter (optional)

Combine wet and dry, batter will be thick (like cookie dough) and spread in greased 9×13 pan. Bake at 350 degrees for 20 minutes until edges are golden. Cool completely, turn onto cutting board and slice into bars or squares. These freeze well if wrapped individually and are great quick breakfast.

We like 1/2 c cranberries, 1/2 c chopped almonds, 1/2 c coconut with 1 t vanilla & 1 t almond. The kids like 1/2 c peanut butter and 1/2 c chocolate chips. It’s a very flexible recipe, play around with it. Do NOT overbake, you want soft and chewy still. I’ve not tried wheat flour but I’m sure you can do it and skip the wheat germ.

Freezer Muffins/Bread

3 c flour (can do some wheat, add wheat germ, etc)

1 t salt

1 T cinnamon (or pumpkin spice of doing apple or pumpkin)

1/2 t baking powder

1 t baking soda

Mix in large bowl. In another bowl combine:

2 eggs (we do 2T ground flax & 6T cold water mixed well)

1 c oil (can do half apple sauce)

2 c sugar (We do 1 1/2 cups but could do less. Also could try half sugar/half honey?)

2 c “mix” (see below)

1 T vanilla (or half vanilla, half almond, half orange extract, etc)

1 c nuts (optional)

1/2 cup oats (optional addition, may need more moisture if you add oats)

Mix wet and dry, bake as 2 loaves at 325 degrees for 1 hour or bake as 2 dozen muffins at 375 for 15 minutes.

“Mix” can be:

apples (diced or grated) or applesauce

bananas

blueberries

carrots grated

coconut

orange or lemon juice (1/2 cup)

peaches

pears

pineapple

pumpkin (I do 1 cup pumpkin & 1 cup applesauce)

raisins or craisins (I do only 1 cup)

zuchini grated

You get the idea.

Wrap muffins in sets of two or loaf in plastic wrap then in foil, stores well in freezer. Defrost in fridge. Makes great easy breakfasts or fast snacks. Can also be used for mini-muffins. If you are very careful about not over mixing the batter you can divide it in half after you combine the wet & dry and stir in two different additions. Half with lemon & coconut, half with banana. But again, be gentle so you don’t mix too much. These freeze so well that we often do a huge batch of pumpkin then a huge batch of banana. Also fun is to make a little streusel topping for them – mix a bit of flour, brown sugar, dash of cinnamon and then grate in some cold butter. Mix up, sprinkle on top. Yummy!

Every combination we do of these turns out a bit different with moisture, rise, etc. It’s a big experiment but always yummy. If you are planning to freeze them then you may want to do full oil – the applesauce/oil ones are drier and seem to not freeze and defrost as well.