Raspberry Oat Crumble Breakfast Bars
I can spend at least 5 minutes debating which flavor jam to buy. I love them all. But I don’t eat often enough to throw in two or three in my cart. There’s mixed berries, apricot, fig, and raspberry that all beg to come home with me. They’re mostly used as a smear over butter on nicely toasted bread. But sometimes I find the jars accumulating despite my self-restraint and I need to figure out a plan B for them. That’s how I came up with these Raspberry Oat Crumble Bars.
I aimed to keep them simple and healthy-ish. The dates in the crumb adds a depth and texture that’s, I would say, game changing. The raspberry jam (although you can use any flavor you like) adds a sweet, fruity pucker in the middle that’s perfectly jammy and further enhanced with a touch of lemon. The recipe makes a 9x13 pan but you’ll find yourself nibbling on square after square when you need that afternoon perk up. And during these times, that’s every few minutes. Happy Monday, everyone!
Raspberry Oat Breakfast Bars
yields 18 servings
ingredients
1½ cups all purpose flour
¾ cup brown sugar
1 ¼ cup rolled oats
6 pitted dates
¾ tsp baking powder
½ tsp baking soda
½ tsp sea salt
¼ tsp cinnamon
¾ cup coconut oil
1 (370g) jar raspberry jam
Zest from ¼ lemon
directions
Line a 9x13 baking pan with parchment paper that hangs over the edges. Use small clips to keep the paper in place. Preheat oven to 350F.
In the bowl of a food processor, combine the flour, brown sugar, rolled oats, dates, baking powder, baking soda, salt, cinnamon and coconut oil. Pulse a few times until the dates are chopped and you get small crumbs. Set aside 1 ¼ cup of the mixture.
Pour the rest into the baking pan and firmly press to create an even layer, pushing the edges up the sides. Bake the crust for 10-12 minutes, remove from the oven and let it cool.
In a bowl, combine the raspberry jam and lemon zest and spread evenly over the crust. Sprinkle the remaining crumbs over the jam.
Bake for 35-40 minutes or until golden, rotating the pan at least once mid-bake. Allow to cool on a wire rack before cutting into squares.