Blueberry Oat Crumble Bars.
I don’t have a “favorite” time of year; I love and appreciate all the seasons for what they’re worth. But, I’m pretty certain that this end of summer/early fall has got to be the BEST time of year in the northeast U.S. for fruit.
Blueberries, raspberries, peaches, apples and husk cherries….there’s not much more a girl can ask for.
I was inspired by Angela’s raspberry chia jam oat bars over at the Oh She Glows blog and decided to sub what I had in the pantry rather than buying ingredients.
I froze a few dozen pints of raspberries & blueberries that we picked at one of the local orchards and I left out a few pints to eat/bake with.
I figured that these oat crumble bars would be a great thing to make, having my little one back in school, they’re a great (albeit messy) snack. Also perfect for breakfast!
Blueberry chia seed jam:
- 3 c fresh (or frozen if needed) blueberries
- 3 T maple syrup
- 2 1/2 T chia seeds
- 1/2 t vanilla extract
Add berries, maple syrup and chia seeds to a medium sized pot.
Stir together over medium-low heat until the berries begin to break down and the mixture begins to bubble.
Reduce heat to low and simmer for 15-20 minutes, mashing the berries with a fork until you get a chunky jam. Leave some berries intact for textures sake.
Remove the pot from the heat, stir in the vanilla, cover and let cool down for at least an hour. You can stick it in the fridge/freezer if you’re in a hurry but it will still take at least 25 minutes to cool down completely.
Oat crumble:
- 1 chia egg (1 T chia seeds and 4 T water) OR 1 flax egg (1 T flax meal and 3 T water)
- 1/3 c virgin coconut oil, melted
- 1/4 c real maple syrup
- 2 T brown rice syrup (sub honey if necessary)
- 2 1/2 c rolled oats (look for gluten free if needed, they’re more expensive but regular oats are NOT gluten free unless specified)
- 1/2 c coconut flour, or oat flour (blend 1/2 c oats until you get flour)
- 1 c almond meal
- 1/2 t baking soda
- 1/4 t fine sea salt
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
Prepare your chia or flax egg by mixing the seeds/flax meal with the water and letting it sit to thicken for about 5 minutes.
In a medium bowl, mix together the wet ingredients:
melted coconut oil, maple syrup, brown rice syrup and thickened chia/flax egg.
One at a time, stir in the dry ingredients until you have added all the remaining ingredients. Mix well!
Line an 8 inch by 8 inch glass baking dish with parchment paper.
Spoon 2/3 of the mixture into the parchment lined pan and press down firmly and evenly. If your dough is very sticky use another piece of parchment paper to press it down so your hands don’t get coated.
Pour the blueberry jam over the crust and smooth it out.
Sprinkle the remaining oat crumble over the top of the jam.
Bake for 25 minutes and then cover the dish with a piece of tin foil. Bake for another 10 minutes. This will prevent your topping from getting overly browned!
Remove from the oven and let cool on a baking rack for about an hour.
I noticed that the crust was super crumbly so I left the whole dish in the refrigerator overnight. The next morning it was definitely much more solid and I could easily slice it into squares.
Keep any uneaten squares in the fridge so they stay firm. The coconut oil in the crust helps to hold this together and will do a better job when it’s kept cool.
Enjoy!
Eat More Plants. 
2 Responses to “Blueberry Oat Crumble Bars.”
Reblogged this on Hannahs Healthy Eats and commented:
Oh my lordy lord. These look absolutely FABULOUS!! Can not wait to try these ❤
They were sooooo good!! 🙂