There’s no snack quite as handy (or as tasty, in my opinion) as the cereal bar. A little bit of fruit, a little bit of oats…what could possibly be wrong with that?
Nothing…until you look at the list of ingredients on the store-bought brands and realize you can’t pronounce half of them! I love the convenience, but not all the additives and preservatives. And in our house, we have the extra concern of food allergies, which rules out almost any prepackaged variety of cereal bar.
So I went searching for a homemade replacement, and I found one! These Fruit & Oatmeal Bars make a fabulous grab-and-go breakfast for hectic school mornings or a healthy after-school snack. Plus, they are easy to make, which is nice because they don’t stick around very long!
Fruit and Oatmeal Bars
2 cups oats
½ cup whole wheat flour
¾ cup all-purpose flour
½ cup sugar
½ teaspoon cinnamon
½ teaspoon baking powder
½ teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon vanilla
¾ cup butter (or alternative for diary allergies)
1 cup of your favorite preserves
Preheat oven to 375 degrees.
Spray a 9 x 13 pan with nonstick cooking spray or grease with butter.
Mix flour, oats, sugar, cinnamon, baking powder, salt, and vanilla. Stir together.
Cut the butter into the dry mixture until it resembles course meal
and is no longer powdery. Bits of butter will still be visible.
Press ¾ of the mixture into pan and bake until browned (about 13-15 minutes).
Remove from oven and spread preserves over the partially baked oat layer.
(I used strawberry, but blueberry and blackberry are also very good!)
Sprinkle the remaining oat mixture over the top.
Bake until topping is slightly browned (about 20 minutes).
Allow to cool.
Bon Apetite!
Oh my goodness, these look so delicious. I’m going to pin this so I remember to make these for my daughters. They LOVE these types of treats. 🙂
Oh, yes, Rosann…I have to ration them to my kids or they would eat the whole pan!
I bet my kids would love these!! Thanks for sharing!!
I bet they would, Lora! Thanks for stopping by!
Thanks for the recipe. It looks delicious! Do you have any suggestions on substitutions for the whole wheat flour and all-purpose flour? No can do at our house… 🙂 What about oat flour? Any thoughts?
Thanks again!
Kelly
Kelly, I have not played around with substituting flour. It is not an allergen for us, so I have not explored it much. I would think oat flour would work, or almond flour?
Thanks for the thoughts…I’ll probably try oat flour.
Looks so yummy! I will have to make it for the kids sometime. I am trying to get away from processed foods – I like do it yourself type things like this!
Sounds scrumptious! Will have to try these soon. I’m the same way about all those unknown ingredients on store items… not to mention overload on sodium and sugar… Thanks for sharing!
We have “in town” days where we could really use these as treats (town is over an hour away through the mountains, but its the closest dance classes! We have all the kids classes scheduled for one day and do the library that day, too.)
We only have old fashioned rolled oats, I never buy quick oats… I’m guessing that’s the right kind for this?
I’m sure rolled oats would work, too. As a matter of fact, I’m sure I’ve used them in a pinch before. They are perfect grab-and-go snacks, but a slight word of caution: They are pretty crumbly so if you don’t want crumbs in your vehicle you might make them a “picnic” snack! 🙂 Thanks for stopping by, Elisabeth!
Thank you for sharing at our TGIF Link Party at A Peek Into My Paradise. Your post will be featured at the TGIF Link Party this week!
Cathy @ http://apeekintomyparadise.blogspot.com/
Awesome, thanks! I’ll give a shout-out on my FB page!