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Oatmeal Berry Crumb Bars

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Oatmeal Berry Crumb Bars

Time is flying in a really unbelievable way.

I know that because a) I have 242 unread emails in ONE inbox and 110 in another and every day I skim through for anything urgent and declare that tomorrow will be the day I get it whittled down to nothing (#fail), and b) because it is already time for me to share another Leftovers Club post.

I swear I made this M & M Cookie Skillet Sundae like… last week or something.

If you are wondering whyyyy you should care about Leftovers Club if I am not putting dessert for YOU in the mail. And I’ll tell you:

It’s because shippable goodies are a good little trick to have up your sleeve.

I firmly believe in mailing treats. Once I even mailed cupcakes. It worked.

This month I was partnered up with Marie from Little Kitchie and ohmygoshIlovehersomuch. Like really.

Oatmeal Berry Bars with Crumble Topping

 

She makes the happiest most colorful dinner dishes and has these filtered Instagrammey photos and I really just want to go to her little kitchen and eat all the food. She sent me these Spicy Honey Mustard Roasted Cashews that were out of control delicious. They came in the mail and Chad and I were like ravenous snack monsters. He has gotten hip to the Leftovers Club plans and gets pretty excited about what people are sending me in the mail.

I need to do a better job of hiding the treats.

So anyway. I made Marie these Oatmeal Berry Crumb Bars. I had a whole other plan for what was going in the mail, but I have this berry-buying problem and have this compulsion to toss them in my cart every time I pass them and they look pretty (thank god for hydroponic gardening!).

Berry Crumb Bars with an Oatmeal Crust

 

These little bars are quick and super easy. The crust and the topping are the same but the crust is pressed and the topping is scattered. The cooked berry filling only takes a few minutes to become thick and jammy. These are so perfect with coffee and of course are super simple to stuff in the mail.

If you’d like to participate in the Leftovers Club you can find info HERE.

5.0 from 2 reviews
Oatmeal Berry Crumb Bars
 
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A simple buttery oat crust topped with cooked berries and a sweet crumbly topping. Perfect with coffee!
Author:
Serves: 24-30 bars
Ingredients
  • For the Crust/Topping:
  • 1½ cups all purpose flour
  • 1½ cups quick oats (see note)
  • 1 cup granulated sugar
  • ½ teaspoon baking soda
  • ¾ cup COLD butter
  • For the Berry Filling:
  • 3 cups assorted fresh (or frozen, unsweetened) berries (I used sliced strawberries, whole blueberries, and whole blackberries)
  • 2½ tablespoons granulated sugar
  • 1 tablespoon lemon juice
  • 2 tablespoons water
  • 1 tablespoon cornstarch
Instructions
  1. Preheat the oven to 375.
  2. In a large bowl whisk together the flour, quick oats, sugar, and baking soda.
  3. Cut in the butter using a box grater and then use your fingers to combine everything into coarse crumbs (some pieces will be larger and some will be very fine; just do your best to incorporate the butter and the largest pieces should be pea-sized).
  4. Set 2 cups of the mixture aside and press the remaining crumbs into the bottom of an un-greased 9 X 13 pan.
  5. Place the berries and sugar into a medium saucepan over medium high heat. Add the lemon juice, water, and cornstarch. Stir to coat. The liquid will simmer and the berries will mostly break down. Continue cooking and stirring for 3-4 minutes, until the mixture is a thick jam-like consistency.
  6. Spoon the berries over the crust and spread it evenly.
  7. Scatter the reserved crust loosely over the top of the berries, covering everything.
  8. Bake for about 25 minutes. Let the bars cool completely before cutting.
Notes
If you only have old fashioned oats on hand you can pulse them in a blender of food processor once or twice to yield quick oats.

Recipe adapted from Taste of Home Baking Classics Blueberry Oat Bars

If you love the berry oat flavor you’ll also love this Raspberry Apple Pie with Oatmeal Cookie Crumble!

Raspberry Apple Pie with Oatmeal Cookie Crumble

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Comments

  1. Love the idea of Leftovers Club – so fun and yummy! These bars look fantastic Heather! I am such a sucker for anything with oatmeal especially in bar form and the berry filling sounds awesome. Anybody would be stoked to find these waiting for them in their mailbox – yum!

    Reply

  2. Oatmeal + berries + a crumb topping??? These have to be the best bars ever – they look awesome! I would have eaten the whole pan. Like, I don’t even know how you managed to send the leftovers to anyone ;–) x

    Reply

      • So I am NOT the dessert making daughter in the Family like my sister is & unfortunately she’s not available for me to ask her . This may be a really silly question to all of you bakers out there, especially to you Heather or Elizabeth-but I’m planning to use mostly raspberries with a few strawberries, blueberries and BlackBerries-all frozen. what about the seeds? Do they soften? I grew up with parents who unfortunately both wore dentures and I remember them complaining a lot about berry seeds getting caught under their dentures. I am making this dish in two days so any comments suggestions or feedback would sure be greatly appreciated.
        Thank you,
        Sherri

        Reply

        • Hey Sherri! That’s a great question! If you are worried about seeds you can definitely search some YouTube tutorials on how to de-seed. Strawberry seeds are so tiny they really never cause an issue, but depending on the variety of raspberries and blackberries it can be a whole thing.

          Reply

  12. I made these last night and just sampled them this morning. I found them to be a little too sweet, like I could taste and feel in my mouth the grains of white sugar in the crust. You actually can see the sugar crystals sparkling all over the topping. It looks nice but the sugar didn’t dissolve at all, is this how it’s supposed to be? Did that happen for anyone else? Especially without a dash of salt for contrast, it just feels too sweet.

    Reply

    • Hi Natalie! Thanks for your feedback! I have never had any trouble with this recipe — it’s pretty old fashioned and simple, but I will agree that these bars are sweet! If you’d like to cut the sugar down, you may want to try brown sugar (more complex and maple-ey instead of just plain sweet), and a dash of salt will never hurt!
      I do have a question though, about the crystal appearance — how did you cut the butter in? Every time I have ever made these (or any streusel) the flour coats the butter and sugar. I always use my box grater because it’s faster AND because it gives me more uniform pieces/distributes more evenly. Hope this helps and let me know if you have any other questions!

      Reply

      • Hi Heather, I did use the frozen butter/box cutter technique for the first time and it seemed to work ok. Once I dumped the butter shavings into the flour I used 2 forks to incorporate it. I will admit I’m an amateur baker 🙂 I would prob try it again with brown sugar like you said, and add a dash of salt, and maybe more lemon in the berries! Thanks for your reply.

        Reply

        • Oh! Hey Natalie! One more thought — you want your butter COLD (like straight out of the fridge), but not frozen. That way it can bond to the sugar and flour (it will soften as you work it). Also- I am a super messy baker, so this may not be your gig, but I swear by mixing things like this with my fingers 🙂

          Reply

  14. I just wanted to say that my husband and I really enjoy your version of the oatmeal berry bars!!! I make the very often and my husband can practically eat the whole thing in just one day (so can I). It’s sooooooo yummy! Thank you for this recipe!!

    Reply

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