Oh it feels so wonderful to be back in the kitchen and baking once again.
We’ve just experienced one of the most unbelievably crazy months.
Between teething molars, tummy bugs, trips to emergency (both Grace and I), the flu, spring cleaning, redecorating the house and a family beach vacay we have been completely out of our usual routine.
The good news is we made it through and today we’re back with these totally gorgeous strawberry and apple oat crisp bars.
These bars are amazing and come from one of my all-time favourite food blogs, Smitten Kitchen. The moment these gorgeously golden fruit layered oat bars hit my inbox I knew Grace and I had to bake them. They’re everything we look for in a morning tea snack; they’re chock full of oats and fruit, taste incredible and are the perfect portable snack. We made a few adjustments to the original recipe (mostly in the method so that Grace could get involved in the baking) and we also swapped the rhubarb for apple.
These bars really are a breeze to prepare, Grace and I managed to get them into the oven in less than 10 minutes and only used one mixing bowl, which is great when you’re trying to clean with an eager 18 month old chasing you around the kitchen.
Once baked, I popped a couple of the crispy golden strawberry and apple strewn bars into the lunch box and Grace devoured them alongside a little fruit for her snack at the park this morning.
To create these gorgeous strawberry & apple oat crisp bars simply…
Begin by preheating the oven to 180 degrees celsius (350 F). Place the oats, plain flour, brown sugar and salt into a large bowl and mix to combine.
Add the melted butter and stir to combine.
Reserve half a cup of the oat mixture (to sprinkle on top of the fruit later) and press the remaining mixture into a 8 x 8 (or equivalent) baking pan lined with baking paper.
Peel the apple and roughly dice. Hull the strawberries and cut into quarters.
Place the fruit on top of the oat base and sprinkle over the flour, lemon juice and sugar.
Sprinkle the reserved half cup of oat mixture over the fruit and pop into the oven to bake for 30 – 40 minutes or until lovely and golden.
Allow to cool completely in the baking pan before removing to cut into bars. Enjoy x
strawberry & apple oat crisp bars
adapted from Smitten Kitchen
INGREDIENTS
1 cup rolled oats
3/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons plain flour
1/2 cup brown sugar
1/4 teaspoon salt
6 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted
1 teaspoon cornflour
1 tablespoon lemon juice
1 tablespoon white sugar
1 apple, peeled and diced
1 punnet of strawberries, hulled and quartered
METHOD
Preheat oven to 180 degrees celsius (350F). Place the oats, flour, brown sugar and salt into a large bowl and mix to combine. Add the melted butter and mix to combine. Reserve 1/2 cup of the oat mixture and press the remaining mixture into a 8 x 8 (or equivalent) baking pan. Place the strawberries and apple pieces on top of the oat base and evenly sprinkle the cornflour, lemon and white sugar over the fruit. Scatter reserved oat crumbs over the fruit and bake for 30-40 minutes or until lovely and golden. Allow to cool completely in the baking pan before removing to cut into bars.
You may also enjoy…
cranberry pecan oat bars
raspberry & macadamia crumb bars
muesli bars
Ever thought of compiling your recipes into an e-book? Would LOVE IT!
Oh I have! I am currently trying to put them together into an ebook but with a 18 month old and another baby on the way I am struggling to find time. Hopefully I can get something together soon! X
Looks delicious, and great that its baby friendly.
My bars didn’t seem to stick together. Also did you use cornstarch and how many cups/lbs strawberries.
Oh no. Perhaps a little extra butter was required to get the mixture to hold together? I used about 1 cup of strawberries and found the bars to be crisp and delish. Were your bars edible? X
We made these today and they have been wolfed down by every member of the family!! Will these freeze ok?
Were you able to cut into bars? I read another post saying that it required more flour and baking soda.
Hi! I used the amended recipe (with extra flour etc) posted on smitten kitchen and found them to be perfect. They were pretty easy to cut using a large kitchen knife and the bars were amazing! X
These look absolutely delicious and like a must try. I’m also curious to know if they’ll freeze ok?
Oh great question! I actually haven’t tried freezing these bars, they vanished way too quickly! But I have frozen a similar recipe very successfully so I feel pretty confident these little darlings would freeze well also. Simply wrap individually, pop into a freezer container or bag and stash in the deep freeze for up to 3 months. Happy cooking x
is the cornflour a necessary ingredient? that’s all im missing
Just use regular plain flour. Its no biggie:-) Happy cooking x
This looks incredible! Could the brown and white sugar be substituted for a natural sweetner (ie maple syrup)?
I haven’t tried replacing the sugar but I am guessing the maple syrup would make the mixture a little too wet which would result in more crumbly bars rather than crisp. If you do try this recipe with maple, simply add just enough until the mixture comes together. Good luck x
These are amazing. My 7 month old will be trying them tomorrow. Would you say they are relatively healthy? X
Yummo! My family loved this. I didn’t seem to have enough mixture for the base so I just made double the recipe. They were perfect. My dad wants the recipe!
I have been experimenting with your delightful recipes. Thank you for the delicious and nutritious combinations!
The Strawberry and Apple Oat Crisp Bar has a wonderful light and chewy texture. I wish to ask you a question re. one ingredient in this recipe. It’s the flour. I wish to double-check the procedure for including it at the correct stage of the method.
I added the 3/4 cup of flour as stated in the method. The additional 2 tbsp plain flour does not have a mention in the method. I wish to ask whether I should add the 2 tbsp plain flour to the cornflour, lemon and white sugar OR to combine it with the reserved oat crumbs? Please advise. Many thanks!
Kindest Regards,
Urszula
Hi Urszula, the 3/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons of flour should be added to the crumb mixture, along with the oats, brown sugar and salt. The measurement 3/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons is one measurement, as in the crumb mixture needs more the 3/4 cup of flour yet less than a full cup. I hope this helps. X