Fruit Oatmeal Bars

I just had to put the most important thing first.  The picture.  These are phenomenal.  

I had frozen strawberries and blueberries from earlier this year so I threw those in.  I am planning on making more this week.  I think this time around blackberries are in order.  I'll let you know how those turn out!  I am SO glad I found this recipe.  

I made these in two separate pans.  I had an 8x11 and a 9x5.  I had enough base, but not enough filling.  So I increased the filling. But honestly...can you ever have too much berry goodness?

Ingredients:

• 1 cup rolled oats, divided*
• 3/4 cup whole-wheat pastry flour (or run regular whole wheat flour through a sifter a couple of times)
• 3/4 cup all-purpose flour
• 1/2 cup sugar
• 1/2 tsp. salt
• 4 tbsp. cold unsalted butter, cut into small pieces
• 1 large egg
• 2 tbsp. canola oil
• 1 tsp. vanilla
• 1/4 tsp. almond extract

*3/4 cups oats for the base of the bars and 1/4 cup oats for the topping

Fruit Filling Ingredients:

• 6 1/2 cups  blueberries, raspberries, cherries, blackberries, strawberries, fresh or frozen, divided*
• 3/4 cup orange juice
• 1 cup sugar
• 1/4 cup and  2 tablespoons cornstarch
• 1 cup orange segments
• 1 1/2 tsp. grated orange zest
• 1 tsp. vanilla

 *VERY versatile recipe.  Just choose what you want to use.  I did mine half blueberry and half strawberry

 Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees (F).
2. Put the oats in a blender or food processor and run until finely ground. Transfer to a bowl and stir in both flours, sugar and salt.
3. Add chunks of butter and use a pastry blender or you fingers to incorporate it into the flour mixture until crumbly.
4. Whisk egg, oil, vanilla and almond extract in a small bowl. Pour into flour mixture and stir until it everything is combined. It will be crumbly.
5. Transfer 1/2 cup of the mixture to a small bowl and stir in the remaining 1/4 cup rolled oats (or nuts or a combination of the two). Set aside for the topping.
6. Line a 9×13″ or two 9×5″ pans with foil or parchment paper. Spray the lined pan with cooking spray. Spread the dough evenly in the pan and press firmly into the bottom to form a crust. Set aside.
7. Combine 4 1/2 cups berries, orange juice, sugar and cornstarch in a large saucepan. Bring to a simmer over medium heat, stirring constantly until the mixture is very thick, 4 to 5 minutes. This could take up to 10 minutes if you started with frozen fruit.
   
8. Stir in the remaining 2 cups of berries, oranges, orange zest and vanilla.
9. Spread the fruit filling over the crust. Sprinkle the reserved topping over the filling.
10. Bake the bars for 15 minutes. Reduce oven temperature to 350 degrees and bake until the crust and topping are lightly brown, 25 to 30 minutes.
11. Let cool completely before cutting into bars, at least 1 1/2 hours.

12.  After cooling I removed the bars by lifting them out of the pan by the tinfoil.

       Then I placed them on a cutting board and cut these with a spatula. 

13.  Once cut I wrapped these individually in plastic wrap and stored in the refrigerator.

Enjoy!

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