Raspberry Streusel Oat Bars

There’s a lot happening these days.  And when I have a lot going on, evening snacking hits a peak. My good friend tells me she has the same thing going on. All the time. So her solution is that she keeps a bowl of freshly washed berries in the fridge and when she feels the urge for a little something sweet, she goes at one or two or twenty to satisfy her craving. Blueberries, blackberries, raspberries. Our bodies love ’em. And so do our taste buds.

I bought extra raspberries at the farmers’ market. And before I munched up all of them, I wanted to use them in some kind of fruit bar. I was thinking of a shortbread-type bar where you make a shortbread dough, press half in the pan, do a fruit center with preserves, crumble the rest of the dough on top and bake.

preserves made better with berries

Then I remembered a struesel bar I’d tried in the Baker’s Dozen Cookbook. It’s more rustic than a straight shortbread bar. It’s got oats so that means we can call it a dessert bar that’s eligible for breakfast standing!

If you don’t know about this cookbook and if you enjoy baking, it is politely asking you to make some room on your shelf for it right now. A group of  terrific Northern California bakers (one of them was Marion Cunningham, who has a permanent spot in my heart) got together regularly, all baked their versions of the same thing and compared notes. Thus, a book was born. And a darn good one.

I mixed  the oats in with the shortbread dough. Melted butter or oil will work for the fat.

Line a pan with foil and press half the dough into the bottom and a bit up the sides.

Preserves, dried fruit cooked a bit, fresh fruit. Or a combination. The opportunity to be creative is alive! alive!

I added almonds to the leftover dough to be crumbled over the top. More nutrition. More logic in calling it a breakfast bar.

Bake until the top begins to turn golden.

Once they were cooled, I cut them into bars and froze them. An easy way for me to share the love.

Everybody loved these bars. Everyone from my mom to my postal carrier. OK, maybe not so objective.  The participants in my market research all generally love what I give them. But seriously. They are good. I managed to sequester the last four in a container and took it with me when we went to visit the niece and family in Ohio. Said niece agreed. All three loved them.

And speaking of love, little Sam is beyond delicious. Not only does everyone want to kiss him, but he wants to run around kissing everyone he likes, which is most people. Every time he ran up to me, wrapped his delicious arms around my leg and kissed it, my heart melted. Every time he leaned in to plant a lip-smacking kiss on my cheek, same effect. And every time he took my arm in his little hands, bent over and landed a kiss on my hand….. sheer heaven. Now that’s what memories are made of.

Print Recipe

Raspberry Streusel Oat Bars

adapted from Apricot Streusel Bars in Baker’s Dozen Cookbook

Ingredients:

1 c. flour

1 c. old-fashioned oats (also called rolled oats)

¼ c. lightly-packed dark brown sugar

¼ c. sugar

½ t. baking soda

¼ t. salt

½ t. cinnamon

1 stick (4 oz.) unsalted butter, melted OR ½ stick butter plus ¼ c. canola oil OR ½ c. oil

6 T. great-quality raspberry preserves (the kind you can’t wait to spread on a buttered piece of whole grain toast, or a fresh scone, or a warm biscuit)

16-20 fresh raspberries (about 1 scant cup)

1/2 c. sliced almonds

Directions:

Position the rack in the center of the oven and preheat to 350º.

Line the bottom of an 8″ square pan with aluminum foil, leaving a bit extra foil on either end for handles. Lightly grease foil.

In a large bowl, mix flour, oats, brown sugar, sugar, and baking soda, and salt.  Add melted butter (or oil, if using) and cinnamon and stir well.

Press half the oat mixture evenly into the prepared pan.

Spread raspberry preserves over oat mixture and top with fresh raspberries, evenly spaced over the preserves.

Add sliced almonds to remaining oat mixture, and mix.

Crumble remaining mixture on top and gently pat into the filling.

Bake until streusel is golden brown and is set in the center, about 30 minutes.

Allow to cool on rack for at least a couple of hours.

Lifting foil handles, remove from pan, cut into 16 or 20 bars.

Stores well in freezer or refrigerator for a couple of weeks.

Note: Variations on raspberry can be apricot, or half a cup of coarsely  chopped dates or pitted prunes.

bb note:  Save all those yummy crumbs and keep them for ice cream or yogurt.

Humble Crumbs

= Awesome Yogurt/Ice Cream Topping

and the berries keep turning up – can’t get enough of them!

The Kisser