Delicious Breakfast Bars

 

I started making these for the Hubby after I was reading some labels on store bought "breakfast bars"! Ermmm... any real ingredients in those would have been such a treat! These are so easy to make, inexpensive, and you can use any fruit you have laying around. A food processor is the best kitchen tool for this recipe.

Ingredients:

1 Cup of flour ( I use King Arthur, it rocks)

3/4 Cup of light brown sugar, firmly packed

1/2 teaspoon of salt

1 stick of cold butter, cut into small cubes

2 1/2 cups of quick cook oats

2 Tablespoons of apple or orange juice

Filling:

1/4 Cup of light brown sugar, firmly packed

2 Tablespoons of flour

Pinch of salt

3 1/2 Cups of fresh fruit, blueberries, strawberries, raspberries, apples, you get the idea.

1 Tablespoon of fresh lemon juice

Heat oven to 375* and grease a 9x13 inch pan (I use tin foil and then spray, when done you can lift the bars right out).

Add the flour, 3/4 cup of brown sugar and salt to the bowl of the food processor. Pulse until combined. Then add cold butter and pulse until coarse crumbs form.

Remove 1 1/2 cups of the mix and set aside. Add the juice to the remaining mixture and pulse a few times until you can see the mix is moistened.  Press this mix evenly into the bottom of the pan using your fingers.

For the filling, whisk together the flour, sugar and salt in a medium bowl. Add your fruit and lemon juice and gently toss. Distribute over the crust mix.

Sprinkle the reserved mix over the top.

Bake until the top is golden brown, about 45 minutes. Let the bars cool for at least 2 hours. Cut into 16 bars and store in the fridge in an airtight container.

I didn't follow the rules on this, big surprise! I added about 1 teaspoon of almond extract to the crust mix and I used some chopped almonds I had laying around in the topping. For kids, not chopping the fruit might not be a great idea. I chopped all the fruit I use. With apples I peeled and chopped.  I know this is a bit more work but worth doing. Besides apples are for fall and in case you hadn't noticed the weather here in Florida, we could really use some fall!!! These are delicious, quick and inexpensive to make for your family. I hope you enjoy them as much as we do.

     Thanks to Designs by Gollum for hosting Foodie Friday.

Jill