Summery Strawberry Oatmeal Breakfast Bars! Made with a fresh, jammy, just sweet strawberry filling that's layered between a tender crisp, buttery oat crumble. A delectable way to start the day.
Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Grease a 9 by 9-inch baking dish, optionally you can also line with parchment paper to more easily remove bars.
In a mixing bowl using your fingers toss together oats, wheat pastry flour or oat flour, brown sugar, baking powder, and salt. Break up any small clumps of brown sugar as you toss.
Stir vanilla into dish with melted butter then pour into oat mixture, toss with a spatula to evenly coat mixture.
Press nearly 2/3 of the oat mixture into pan it should barely be enough to cover (reserving nearly 1/3 at 180g for the top).
In a separate mixing bowl toss together strawberries with cornstarch and honey. Spread strawberry mixture over bottom oat layer in pan.
Top strawberry layer with the remaining oat crumble mixture dotting it over the top (you can press pieces together slightly for more chunky crumble).
Bake in preheated oven until golden brown and juices are bubbling, about 35 to 40 minutes.
You can spoon it out warm but if you want more uniform bars wait 20 to 30 minutes to cut into squares.
Store in the fridge for up to 2 days, freeze for 3 months.
Notes
To Make Gluten Free Oatmeal Bars: Omit whole wheat pastry flour and use gluten free oat flour only. Use certified gluten free rolled oats and also gluten free baking powder. And as always ensure other ingredients are produced in gluten free facilities with no cross contamination.
To make vegan: Replace honey with white sugar or maple syrup and butter with vegan butter or coconut oil.