Whole Grain Raspberry Oat Bars

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When we were in high school, my best bud Amy and I had a thing for raspberries (and cherry pie filling that comes in a can, but that’s another story). Looking for fruit? An entire pint of raspberries would suffice. One of us even had an AIM username with the word “raspberry” in it. I can’t remember who had the username, and also, does anyone actually use AIM anymore? Have I just dated myself?

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No surprise that raspberry jam is my absolute favorite spread. When I saw a recipe for raspberry oat bars in Shape Magazine, I decided to healthify-it-up by using whole grain flour and less sugar. Granted, these bars are still a sweet treat – but when you’re looking for a sometimes food, why not go for something with an intense flavor that makes your taste buds sing?

(I thought about inserting a cartoon of taste buds singing, but … no. You’re welcome.)

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Cutting 1″x1″ samples for a tasting:

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Bonus pic!  I recently served samples of these raspberry oat bars at Strawberry Fields, and unlike with my high-protein green hummus, customers lingered by my table to taste them. Some even came back for seconds. At one point, I left the table to show a customer how to look for sodium on a label, and when I returned, every sample was gone. Like, all that was left were a few wayward crumbs signaling the feast that had taken place in my absence. One woman said she discovered my “secret stash” of samples under the table and was tempted to sneak more.

I guess they were a hit.

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Whole Grain Raspberry Oat Bars

  Prep Time: 5 minutes

  Cook Time: 30 minutes

  Keywords: bake breakfast dessert snack oats raspberry

Ingredients (24 bars)

  • 1 3/4 cup white whole wheat flour or gluten-free flour blend
  • 1/2 cup packed light brown sugar
  • 1/2 cup rolled oats
  • 1/2 cup unsalted butter, melted
  • 1 10-ounce jar raspberry jam

Instructions

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Cover an 8-inch by 8-inch baking ban with foil, allowing a few inches to hang over each side.

In a medium bowl, stir together flour, brown sugar, and oats. Add melted butter and mix until crumbly. Spoon 1 1/2 cups of the mixture into the foil-lined baking pan and press flat. Bake for 10 minutes.

Remove from oven and spread raspberry jam over the crust, leaving a 1/2-inch border of crust around the outside. Spoon remaining oat mixture over the jam and lightly spread to cover.

Bake for 20 minutes, then allow to cool completely in the pan. Chill in refrigerator for 1 hour, then remove from pan and cut into 24 bars.

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Q: What’s your favorite spread/jam flavor?

P.S. No post this Friday, as I’ll be traveling. See you next week!

18 Comments

  1. I love how you healthified these up! Raspberry jam is my favorite…I just love that intense tart sweet flavor!

  2. A sampling success story, wahoo!!! Of course when there is sugar and more sugar involved, it always works 🙂 I’m searching for some teff pudding recipes at the moment, an hope to get people hooked on that next!

  3. I love your posts! Will it work if I I add real fruits?

    1. Thanks, Farida! I haven’t tried this recipe with real fruit, but I imagine it would work if you drained excess liquid from the crushed fruit first (or else the bars might get soggy). The bars won’t be as sweet, either, but perhaps that’s what you’re looking for :). Let me know how it goes!

  4. Goodness! Look at how delicious these look (and how simple the recipe is!) Certain to be win-wins at my house! I love raspberries too, and I actually have a jar of raspberry jam at home. I’ll be making these soon!

  5. These look incredibly delicious-thanks for sharing your recipe!

  6. These look amazing! I love jam – I eat it straight off a spoon. This is a much better way. 🙂

  7. Yum might have to try gluten/ dairy free version though I think I’ll use coconut oil instead of butter and maybe buckwheat and teff flour with maybe some tapioca starch. Yum! I think I’m going to do that right now! I’ll let you know how they turn out.

    1. I was just thinking that coconut oil would be a great substitute (actually, it was Peter’s idea, which thrilled/terrified me to no end) – yes, please do let me know how it goes!

      1. It worked really well!
        I ended up using
        1/2 cup teff flour,
        1/2 cup buckwheat
        1/2 cup brown rice flour
        1/4 cup tapioca starch
        1/2 tsp. xantham gum (don’t know if it was really needed but hey couldn’t hurt!)
        1/2 cup br sugar
        1/2 cup rolled oats
        1/2 cup coconut oil
        10 ounces of blackberry jam (didn’t have any raspberry jam)

        1. Nice, Sarah! I’m totally going to try this (gotta get some buckwheat!).

      2. You are obviously rubbing off on him!

  8. I love strawberry and raspberry and blueberry things haha, and will definitely miss berry picking this summer! These bars look scrumptious, I’ve always bought bars before but it would be great to make healthier, homemade ones!

    Enjoy your travels! 😉

  9. Glad to see a gluten free version also. Strawberry,blackberry,and raspberry are my favorites.

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