Num Nums (Peanut Butter banana bars) -Freezer Friendly Toddler Recipe

How Num Nums came to be

Originally this recipe would have been titled Peanut Butter Banana Bars. The first time I made them I left them out on the counter to be consumed. My husband offers one to my then 1.5 year old and calls them peanut butter yum yums since he didn't know what they were called and because the kid couldn't pronounce his y's yet they instantly became Nums Nums. And of course, they are nummy.

These are by far the most popular snack in my home, which I love because they are super easy to make and freeze well.

Freezing the Num Nums

When your Num Nums are done let them cool fully, cut them into squares, and then place them on parchment paper in the freezer spread out just enough so they are not touching and allow to freeze. When they're frozen to the touch I pop them into a freezer bag. No need to worry about them being frozen all the way through, we are just getting them to a place where they won't freeze into one giant block. I love this because I can get freezer space back quicker. I usually transfer them after a couple hours. These are great for taking on the go. I just grab a few and toss them in a zip lock and by the time we need them at our destination they are defrosted and ready to eat.

What You'll Need

2 medium sized ripe bananas. I've made these with super ripe bananas as well as mostly yellow and its worked out great with both. The less ripe bananas may be harder to mash.

2 eggs. Nuf said. Crack them right into the bowl or whisk in a separate bowl first to incorporate them easier. I crack them into a separate bowl for two reasons, one, I always manage to get egg shells in and its easier to remove them if they are in a separate bowl. And two, I have backyard hens, if an egg is bad and its in a separate bowl I haven't ruined all the ingredients.

1/2 cup peanut butter (or other nut butter). Typically, a jar of peanut butter is 2 cups so I just estimate a fourth of the jar and save myself from washing peanut butter out of my measuring cups. However, If you wanted to measure it out a thin coating of oil can help the peanut butter slide right out

1/2 cup oat flour. Blend oats in a blender. That's it. They don't have to be as fine as flour. Blend for about 20 seconds, give it a shake and blend another 10

1/2 tsp baking powder. Make sure you are using baking POWDER. Fresh is better because the Num Nums will rise better however, use what you got.

Chopped Walnuts (optional). I used to always put chopped walnuts on top of the Num Nums. But recently I have a toddler who has been into feeding the dogs and walnuts are toxic to dogs, so be careful out there with your pets. Any chopped nut would work, I prefer walnuts because they are a bit softer and easier to chew

How to make them

1. Mash bananas in a medium size bowl. You can leave small chunks if you would like but most should be able to mix in with the rest of the ingredients.
2. Add in both eggs and mix until well incorporated. I like to use a fork for this.
3. Add in your peanut butter and mix until well incorporated. I usually just estimate a fourth of a jar. For this, I like to use my fork to stab the glob of peanut butter and whisk in a circular motion like you would eggs.
4. Add in the oat flour and baking powder and mix until well combined. Again, I just use the same fork. No need for extra dirty dishes around here.
5. Scrape contents of bowl into a well buttered 8x8 baking dish. The size of the dish is not super important. I have made these thin and thick and they always turned out well and get devoured by my toddler. Just make sure they cover the bottom of the pan at least a half inch and the batter is spread evenly so it cooks uniformly
6. Sprinkle Walnuts on top. I like to press them in a little.
7. Bake for 20 minutes at 350 degrees F. Makes about 12 2x2.5in pieces.