Oats and Buttermilk Snack Cakes

These little bars (actually, they're quite large), are easy, healthy, kid friendly, and a tasty alternative to your run-of-the mill granola bar or muffin. The bars require a little forethought, since you have to soak the steel cut oats overnight, but since I had all the ingredients at home, it wasn't too much of a stretch. The cakes are made in a 9x13 pan, and they come out looking like blondies, with a bread-like texture. I expected them to have a sweet taste, like a dessert, but actually, they taste more like a pancake or biscuit, taking on the look and texture of a brownie. Case in point - I tried topping them with a scoop of ice cram, and it was like putting ice cream on a buttermilk biscuit. Not terrible, but not something that I want to do again. These are more like a cake you want to eat with a cup of good coffee on a Sunday morning. Anyway, after reading the reviews of this recipe, I decided to cut the butter content in half (I used 2 tbl, instead of 4), because people said they were way too buttery. I'm glad I made that modification, because they still have a very moist, buttery flavor. These little bars are very nice blend of sweet and salty, and are both moist, and slightly crunchy, from the steel cut oats. I really like these, and so does Maya. Next time, I may add some dried fruit to these, and maybe even some walnuts. I know it would add some "heaviness" to the bars, but I actually would rather the bars be smaller, but have more goodies inside. The recipe makes 12 bars, but in reality, it could really make 16 bars, easily.