Blueberry Oat Bars

I just have to squeeze this summer recipe in before summer ends. I've had it for ages, made it half a dozen times, and shared it with friends and family at least that many times as well. These bars are quite versatile; you can eat them for/with breakfast, as a fresh dessert, or a midday snack. I like to make a batch and then cut them into individual bars and freeze them, then take them out whenever I need them.

Blueberry Oat Bars

Ingredients:

1¾ cups oats, uncooked

1½ cups flour

¾ cup brown sugar, firmly packed 

½ cup chopped walnuts 

½ tsp. cinnamon

½ tsp. baking soda

½ tsp. salt

¾ cup butter, melted

2 cups fresh or frozen blueberries

½ cup sugar

3 Tbsp. water

2 Tbsp. cornstarch

2 tsp. fresh-squeezed lemon juice

Directions:

Heat oven to 350° F. Grease 11x7 inch baking dish. Combine oats, flour, brown sugar, nuts, cinnamon, baking soda and salt. Add butter, mixing until crumbly. Reserve 1 cup of the mixture, press remaining mixture onto bottom of prepared baking dish. Bake 10 minutes.

Meanwhile, combine blueberries, sugar and 2 Tbsp. water in medium saucepan. Bring to a boil, simmer 2 minutes, stirring frequently. Combine remaining 1 Tbsp. water, cornstarch and lemon juice; mix well. Gradually stir into blueberry mixture. Cook and stir until thickened. Spread over partially baked base to within ¼ inch of edge. Sprinkle with reserved oat mixture and press topping down into blueberry filling slightly. 

Bake 18-20 minutes or until topping is golden brown. Cool on wire rack and cut into bars.

Nothing to it! These bars are super simple to make, especially since the topping and the crust are the same. On a side note, I've made these with frozen blueberries a bunch of times, when blueberries just weren't in season and/or too expensive and I've actually had better luck with the frozen ones. They always seem to have just the right balance of sweet and tart. Sometimes with the fresh ones you don't know what you're getting.

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