Blueberry oat bars
I know it’s not berry season by any means, but there’s never a wrong time for a warm crumb cake fresh out of the oven. Blueberries happen to be one of my favorite fruits that’s almost even better when cooked down and caramelized. I don’t so much enjoy warm strawberries or raspberries or even blackberries. Those berries to me are best fresh, and there’s something about the cooking process denatures their sweetness and texture too much. But blueberries, while I adore them fresh, cold, and crisp, they do make for one delicious warm compote. I think that’s why as a kid I only ever liked chocolate chip or blueberry pancakes or maybe even banana pancakes, and to this day, that’s how I prefer my breakfast cakes. And better yet, biting into a perfectly baked blueberry muffin and getting that bite with a cluster of juicy, and still hot, blueberries is like heaven on earth.
I don’t always have time to prepare fresh pancakes or muffins in the morning, so baking up a dish, or sheet cake, if you will, can be so convenient. Through my Instagram perusings I came across a recipe for breakfast blueberry oat bars from a web site called The Full Helping. A mash-up of a wholesome coffee cake, blueberry bread, breakfast bar, and sheet pancake….or I guess the way I justify it in my mind is that it could be a breakfast, snack, or dessert – all healthy and slightly indulgent at the same time! My kind of treat!
I followed the recipe almost exactly, but changed up the topping just a tad so I could enjoy more of my favorite blueberry jam on the top! I recently discovered Neat Nick Preserves Blueberry Ginger Jam and immediately fell in love. Chunky and chock-full of whole, fresh, juicy blueberries, just like I like it, with a warm-the-back-of-your-throat spice from the ginger. And the jam is only sweetened with a hint of sugar to balance out the gingery heat – a perfect topping to any pancake or toast!
The recipe calls for oat flour, which I actually made myself by pulverizing organic, gluten-free rolled oats in my food processor until they reached a fine, flour-like consistency. And for the topping, I omitted the brown sugar that was to be mixed in with the rolled oats and coconut oil, and instead I just spread twice the amount of blueberry jam on top and then crumbled more oats and coconut oil on top. My kitchen smelled heavenly as the jam and crumb topping began to caramelize together! I cut my bars into 12 small squares and hubby and I dove right in. Good thing I remembered to take photos first!
These bars are vegan, gluten-free, and can be adapted to any other dietary needs by swapping out alternative grains or flours for the oats, such as quinoa, buckwheat, cassava, almond, or coconut flours.
Blueberry oat bars
Recipe adapted from The Full Helping web site by Gena
2 cups oat flour
1 cup rolled oats
1 tsp. baking soda
¼ tsp. salt
1 tsp. cinnamon
6 Tbsp. maple syrup
¼ cup avocado oil
1 banana
¼ cup almond milk
1 tsp. vanilla extract
Crumb topping:
2/3 cup Neat Nick Preserves Blueberry Ginger Jam
¼ cup rolled oats
2 Tbsp. coconut oil
Preheat the oven to 350F. In a large mixing bowl, combine the oat flour, rolled oats, baking soda, salt, and cinnamon. Set aside. In a food processor, blend the maple syrup, avocado oil, banana, almond milk, and vanilla extract. Combine the wet ingredients with the dry and mix thoroughly together. Pour the mixture out into a small rectangular or square glass baking dish and spread out evenly. Gently spread the blueberry jam in a thin layer over the top of the cake without mixing into the cake batter. For the crumb topping, pulse the oats and coconut oil in a food processor until just combined. Scatter the crumb topping all over the jam layer of the cake and bake at 350F for 45 minutes, or until the top begins to turn slightly golden. Allow to cool completely before cutting so the jam can set.