Quick and Easy Raspberry Oat Bars
Crumb Mixture:
2 1/4 cups flour (I've only used white, have not tried other flours)
1 cup sugar
1 cup oats
1 cup vegan butter, softened (not melted)
1 egg replacer (I used 1 tablespoon ground flax + 3 tablespoons water, heated and let sit until gooey) Filling:
3/4 cup raspberry preserves (or whatever flavor suits your fancy)
1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit. Combine crumb mixture ingredients in large bowl. Mix by hand with a pastry blender or beat with mixer on low speed until the mixture resembles coarse crumbs. Grease an 8" square pan.
2. Set aside about 2 cups of the crumb mixture. Press the remaining mixture on the bottom of the prepared pan.
3. Spread the preserves over the mixture, leaving about 1/4 to 1/2" uncovered on the edges. Crumble the 2 cups reserved crumb mixture that was set aside over the preserves.
3. Bake 40 to 50 minutes or until lightly browned. When completely cool, cut into bars.
Source of recipe: Inspired by an old raspberry-nut bar recipe from Land O Lakes.
SO HOW'D IT GO?
This is a really nice recipe and it turned out really well. For the filling, I made my own by adding frozen berries (mainly raspberries and blueberries) to a pot with a little bit of water and sugar. I then let that boil/simmer for about 10-15 minutes or until a thick gooey consistency. This allows you to have control over the amount of sugar in the filling and the ingredients in general. I also used half of a mashed banana with a dash of vegan milk and a dash of baking powder as the egg replacer. I am definitely making this again!
So, I made this recipe with strawberry preserves I hadn't tasted...they pretty much ruined it for me. The crust/crumb topping is delicious, and I plan on revisiting this recipe with a different fruit filling. My roommate is pretty pleased with them, though, so I think it's just my preference on the preserves.
EDIT: I remade this with black raspberry jam and it was much yummier.
I love these!!! So yummy...I have made these at least 5 times and everyone I have fed them to has loved them...even my boyfriends picky mom said they are the best thing she's ever tasted!
Yummy and super easy! If you like crispy, chewy and tangy cookies this is a great recipe. I put half of strawberry jam on one side and raspberry jam on the other. It is also a lot easier to spread the jam if it is room temp. If I use cold jam the batter tends to lift off the pan.
i accidentally bought an itty bitty jar of preserves so i had to throw in some blackberry jam, too. no biggie. but the bars are probably going to be mostly topping. also no biggie, since the topping is scrumptious.
thanks for sharing this recipe. very quick and easy, little cleanup.
I've been dying to try these since the recipe got posted and finally got a chance to today! Basically, I burned my tongue trying to eat these bars right out of the oven. So good!
Mild modifications: I used 1/4 cup silken tofu for the "egg" and a 9" circular cake pan. I learned that the volume of an 8x8x2 square brownie pan is approximately equal to the volume of a 9x2 circular cake pan so it should work out in the end, yea? Cheers!
Hmm - for the whole recipe - do you mean like maybe a casserole-sized pan or the whole gamut as in a 13x9?
I know I was a little vague about the size, sorry about that! The original recipe that I changed/veganized calls for an 8x8 pan for the whole thing, but to me that seems like it'd make too-thick bars. They might be good that way, but I always halve the recipe and the 8 x 8 for half comes out to be what I think is a good thickness (or maybe I just like them thinner?). So I think a 13 x 9 would probably work well. I was thinking of a casserole sized pan too, as you said. You can choose one size to start, and then when you press 1/2 the crumb mixture in the bottom for the crust, if it seems too thin you could always switch to a smaller pan.
Hmm - for the whole recipe - do you mean like maybe a casserole-sized pan or the whole gamut as in a 13x9?
A few notes for this recipe I've realized since I started making it:
--I usually halve the recipe and bake it in an 8x8 pan. If you're making the whole thing, you can use a bigger pan.
--Depending on the thickness of the preserves you use, you may need to use a little more. Just make sure there's a decently thick layer of preserves.
--I accidentally left out the egg replacer today. The top was a tad crumbly but that might be because I used the really small quick/instant oats. Still worked though, and held together perfectly.
WILL TRY THIS AND LET YOU KNOW. SOUNDS PRETTY GREAT THOUGH.