Strawberry Oat Bars

Summer has been a bit fickle this year, we have been having incessant rains, weather in general has been moody. So park days have been fewer and far in between. Whenever, we do have sunny days we revel in it. The three of us grab our picnic blanket and head off to the park. I usually pack some sandwiches, fruits and these gorgeous strawberry oat bars from the Oh She Glows Every Day cookbook. I have made them thrice this season! It works perfectly for after daycare/ picnic/ camp/ 3 PM slump/ or for the myriad classes we take our daughter to. The texture is a bit like shortbread cookie and a crumble, and is seriously awesome. You don't have to make the strawberry jam the recipe calls for, but Angela has included a quick version in her book which is simply luscious and I needed a perfect excuse to use up all the strawberries from a recent picking binge.

I have adapted the recipe based on what I had on hand. The original recipe is nut free and uses sunflower seed butter, but I swapped it for almond butter and completely left out the rice syrup. I have been following Angela’s blog long before her two books. Her stories of pregnancy and motherhood resonate with me and I felt it has helped me in my own journey to recovery and healing. Her approach to veganism is fresh and her knack for recreating comfort classic is inventive.

Strawberry Oat Bars // Makes 16 squares

Adapted from the Oh She Glows Every Day: Quick and Simply Satisfying Plant-Based Recipes cookbook

Notes - I buy my rolled oats on Amazon

• 3 cups of rolled oats
• 1 cup sunflower seeds
• ¼ cup maple syrup
• 2 tablespoon almond or sunflower seed butter
• ½ teaspoon salt
• ½ cup coconut oil
• 11/4 cup strawberry jam 

Preheat the Oven to 325F

If desired, spread the sunflower seeds on a baking sheet and lightly roast in the oven for 8 -10 minutes or until lightly golden brown. Remove from the oven and set aside.

Increase the oven temperature to 350. Line a 9-inch baking pan with parchment paper. Leave some overhang, this will make it easy to remove the bars later.

In a food processor blend oats, sunflower seed and sea salt to a coarse flour.

In a small saucepan, melt the coconut oil over low heat. Remove from heat and whisk in the maple syrup and almond butter until well combined. Add the wet mixture into the food processor and process until everything comes together. The dough will be oily and heavy. There will be no dry patches.

Set aside 1 - 11/4 cup of the oat mixture for the topping. Press the remaining dough into a prepared  pan in an even layer. Using your hands or the back of a cup pack it down tight. Even out the edges with your fingertips. Prick the crust with a fork to allow steam to escape.

Prebake the crust for 10 minutes. Remove from the oven and let it cool for 5 minutes. If you find some parts of the crust to be puffy gently press it down to release the air. Spread the jam in an even layer over the crust. Crumble the remaining dough over the jam.

Bake for 14 - 18 minutes (I needed a full 18 minutes in the oven). The colour of the crumble does not change much during baking.  Let is cool in the pan for 45 minutes to an hour. At this point you can carefully lift the slab out of the the pan and slice it into squares or freeze it for 30 minutes before slicing.

Store in an airtight container in the refrigerator for several days or individually wrap it and store in the freezer for 4-5 weeks. Every batch I made did not last beyond a few days.

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