Strawberry and Raspberry Oat Squares

What goes better with summertime than berries?  And what goes better with berries than oatmeal?!  (Well, probably many things, take sweetened cream for instance, but that's neither here nor there!)  Earlier this year, I was so pleased to find the website smitten kitchen -- it's quite a wonderful and adventurous recipe blog.  I highly recommend it.  In May the author wrote about a recipe she created for strawberry rhubarb crisp bars.  I took the idea and ran with it.  And the end result was delicious.  Not really a bar, nor are they really crisp.  But boy are they scrumptious!!

Ingredients:

• 1 cup rolled oats
• 1/2 cup + 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
• 1/2 cup light brown sugar
• 1/8 teaspoon baking soda
• 6 tablespoons butter, melted
• 1 teaspoon cornstarch
• 1 tablespoon granulated sugar
• 1 cup raspberries
• 1 cup (or more) strawberries, chopped

Directions:

1. Heat oven to 375 degrees F.  
2. Place oats, flour, brown sugar, and baking soda into an 8-by-8-inch square baking pan (I actually prefer a baking dish that is a little smaller); mix. Pour the melted butter over the dry ingredients, and stir until clumps form.  Set aside 1/2 cup of the crumble mixture.  Press the rest of the crumb mixture evenly in the bottom of the pan to make the crust.
3. In a medium sized bowl, mix the fruit with the cornstarch and sugar.
4. Spread the fruit over the crust.  Sprinkle reserved crumbs over the fruit.
5. Bake for 30 to 40 minutes, until fruit is bubbly and crisp topping is golden.
6. Let cool in pan at room temperature.  Cut into squares.  Serve.  Store leftover squares in the refrigerator.

I've made these squares several times, sometimes with a mix of berries, sometimes in an 8"x8" pan, sometimes with more flour, and sometimes with less baking soda.  Each time I find I prefer the squares baked in a slightly smaller baking dish (a round dish that is about 7.5" in diameter), with a slightly excessive amount of fruit and the ingredients called for above.  The end result, unlike smitten kitchen's strawberry rhubarb crisp bars, are squares that are soft and rich with fruit.  The oatmeal crust has a consistency somewhere between an oatmeal cookie and a graham cracker crust.  The squares are also luxuriously, splendidly, heavy with fruit.  The original recipe was adapted from one for apple crisp bars, so in addition to making the squares with a mix of fresh berries (blueberries, strawberries, raspberries, etc.), I imagine they might be nice with apples too.  But I like them best with just raspberries and strawberries, since the two really compliment each other well with a mix of tart and sweet flavors. 

This recipe is so simple to prepare, and the squares really are wonderfully delicious.  I love them for breakfast, and even for dessert.  They make a great snack too...  Try them, you'll love them!

Fresh organic berries

The crumb

The crust

Prior to baking

Just out of the oven

Ready to eat

 

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