Description
Gorgeous Strawberry Oatmeal Bars with a shortbread-like crust. Made with whole grain oats, fresh ripe strawberries, and sweetened with maple syrup for a healthy twist. A delicious, nourishing treat perfect for potlucks! Easy to make, kid-friendly, gluten free and vegan-friendly.
Ingredients
Units
Scale
For the filling:
- 1 lb fresh strawberries, diced small
- 1 tbsp lemon juice
- 3 tbsp pure maple syrup
- 2 tsp cornstarch
For the bars:
- 1 1/2 cups old fashioned oats
- 1 cup oat flour
- 1/2 cup almond flour
- 1/4 tsp fine salt
- 1/3 pure maple syrup
- 6 tbsp butter, melted (I like salted)
- 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350F. Line an 8x8 inch baking dish with parchment paper and spray with cooking spray.
- Place a medium pot over medium heat. Add strawberries, lemon juice, maple syrup, and cornstarch, mixing to combine. Once mixture is gently bubbling, reduce heat to low and simmer for about 5 minutes, stirring often. Remove from heat.
- In a large mixing bowl, whisk oats, oat flour, almond flour, and salt. Add maple syrup, melted butter, and vanilla, stirring until a moist dough forms. Set aside about 1/2 cup of the mixture for the topping.
- Press the remaining mixture firmly into the lined pan. Pour strawberry mixture on top, smooth with a spatula, then crumble remaining topping over strawberries.
- Bake for 35-40 minutes, or until the topping is golden and smelling delicious. Cool completely on a wire rack before cutting. (I like to put them in the fridge once they've cooled down a bit to speed up the process.) Delish with whipped cream or vanilla ice cream!
Notes
VEGAN: Sub vegan butter.