These cherry almond oat bars are so tender and “buttery” that you just’d in no way guess they’re made with none flour or butter! A mixture of oats and almond flour gives them an irresistibly tender crust, which pairs beautifully with an easy handmade cherry chia seed jam. A delicious gluten-free and vegansnack.
So I do understand it’s nonetheless January and cherries are further a summer season issue, nonetheless I can’t be the one one who nonetheless needs fruity points even throughout the lifeless of winter. That and it was -38°C (-36°F) proper right here a short time up to now, so the balmy -1 we’re having enjoyable with now primarily looks like t-shirt local weather.
And I do know modern cherries aren’t obtainable spherical this time of 12 months, nonetheless due to the magic of flash-freezing, we are going to nonetheless take pleasure in nutrient packed fruits even throughout the winter months… which is what we wish, correct? Further dietary nutritional vitamins to fend off the entire baddies? Flu-fighting desserts – can that be an element?
In all honesty, though, I’m merely looking out for an excuse to discuss these cherry almond oat barsnonetheless I suppose the entire excuse I would love is that they’re merely straight up delicious.
How To Make Cherry Almond Oat Bars
First up, we’ve obtained to make the cherry chia seed jam. It’d sound a little bit of intimidating, nevertheless it certainly’s really super easy to make.
Add the cherries and maple syrup to a saucepan set over medium-high heat and look ahead to the cherries to begin out releasing their juices. As quickly as that happens, I prefer to make use of a potato masher to interrupt them apart further sooner than together with the chia seeds.
As quickly because the chia seeds are in, convey the jam to a boil, stirring typically, until it begins to cut back and thicken.
Take away it from the heat and let it cool whereas it continues to thicken.
It’s essential end up with one factor that’s the consistency of… correctly… jam. It shouldn’t be runny the least bit, and it’s best to be able to unfold it with a knife or spoon. I don’t like having large chunks of cherry in my jam since that doesn’t sit too correctly on the bars, so I prefer to suggest getting into with a potato masher (or irrespective of you might have obtainable) to get all of them mashed up. And in case you don’t have the time or parts to make your private jam, you could merely use 3/4 cup of a store-bought jam.
Subsequent up, we’ve obtained the almond oat crust. I desire to make this throughout the blender since I uncover it to be the only and quickest, nonetheless you could merely make it by hand – merely alternate the 1 cup of oats with 3/4 cup of oat flour and mix the entire parts collectively by hand in a giant mixing bowl.
Concepts For Working With The Almond Oat Crust
You’ll want to make use of about 2/3 of the dough for the underside and save the remaining 1/3 for the best, nevertheless it certainly doesn’t must be precise so don’t concern an extreme quantity of about portions – merely ensure you depart some dough to positioned on excessive.
For the underside, I desire to use a spatula sprayed with cooking spray to unfold the dough out as a result of it’s a little bit of on the sticky side and is likely to be robust to work with. After that comes the entire jam, adopted by the remaining 1/3 dough for the best. For this half, I drop the dough by small spoonfuls after which use moist fingers to unfold them out. You probably may even use a knife to swirl the dough into the jam a little bit of for a neat swirly influence.
Okay, Nevertheless What Are They Like?
You guys. This crust is so.freaking.good. I’m not exactly constructive what it is, nonetheless I’ve on a regular basis found that the combination of oats and almond flour tastes heaps like standard dough made with flour and butter… with out really being made with any flour or butter. Ya know? These guys are actually vegan and gluten-free (as long as you utilize licensed gluten-free oats), so even these with some dietary restrictions can take pleasure in them.
The bars themselves are sweet, tender, and “buttery,” making them actually really feel additional decadent. You probably can cut back on the sweetness a little bit of bit by using a lot much less sugar throughout the crust (1/4 cup to 6 Tbsp relying in your tastes), and it’s best to make the most of a particular fruit for the jam in case you don’t have or like cherries. May I prefer to suggest strawberries or blueberries? In any case, I consider you’ll love these bars.
Utterly completely happy consuming!
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cherry almond oat bars
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5 from 4 evaluations
Author:
Amanda @ Working with Spoons
Complete Time:
1 hour
Yield:
12 bars 1x
For the cherry chia jam:*
For the bars:
Instructions
Make the jam:
Add the cherries and maple syrup to a medium saucepan set over medium heat. Heat until the cherries begin to launch their liquid, about 5 – quarter-hour counting on whether or not or not or not they’ve been modern, frozen, or thawed. Carry to a boil, stirring typically, until the cherries begin to cut back and thicken, about 5 -10 minutes. Use your spoon or a potato masher to interrupt them apart further if desired.
Stir throughout the chia seeds, persevering with to arrange dinner for another 5 minutes. Take away the pan from the heat and allow the jam to relax. It will proceed to thicken the longer it sits, which is why I usually desire to make it the night sooner than I’m planning on making these bars.
Make the bars:
Preheat your oven to 350°F (175°C) and put collectively an 8×8 (20×20 cm) baking pan by lining it with a sheet of parchment paper, leaving various inches of overhang on the perimeters to allow for easy eradicating.
Add the oats and almond flour to a high-speed blender or meals processor and course of on extreme for about 10 seconds, or until the oats have broken down into the consistency of a high-quality flour. Add the remaining crust parts and proceed processing until a sticky dough begins to kind. You should definitely stop and scrape down the perimeters of your blender/processor as necessary.
Swap 2/3 of the dough into your prepared baking pan, using your fingers or a spatula to make it possible for it is pressed down tightly and evenly. It could be a little bit of stubborn, so I prefer to suggest spraying your spatula with cooking spray or holding a small bowl of water shut by so you could moist your fingers. Spoon the chia jam over the ground, and use a spatula or knife to unfold it evenly, guaranteeing to solely go inside 1/4 of the sting to forestall the jam from burning. Excessive with remaining dough by dropping it on excessive in in various separate globs, after which using your spatula to unfold them out.
Bake for 35 – 40 minutes, until the centre has set and the bars begin to present golden brown. Take away from the oven and permit them to chill throughout the pan for about quarter-hour sooner than transferring them to a wire rack to relax absolutely. Use a sharp knife to cut them into explicit particular person bars and retailer them in partially lined container at room temperature for as a lot as 3 days. After that, cowl them and preserve the bars throughout the fridge or wrap them individually and freeze for as a lot as 3 months.
Notes
* It’s possible you’ll as properly use 3/4 cup store-bought jam in case you don’t have time to make your private.
** I prefer to make use of frequent cane sugar because of the lighter colour it gives the crust, nonetheless you could sub in coconut sugar as correctly. It’s possible you’ll as properly cut back the amount of sugar to 6 Tbsp to ensure that you a lot much less sweet bars.
Prep Time:20 minutes
Put together dinner Time:40 minutes
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