FOR THE CRUST
- 1 cup all-purpose flour
- 2 cups rolled oats
- 1 cup light brown sugar
- 3/4 cup extra virgin olive oil (EVOO)
- 1/8 cup extra virgin olive oil (EVOO) or cooking spray to grease the pan
- a few pinches powder sugar (optional for dusting the top to make it look pretty)
FOR THE FILLING
- 5 cups fresh fruit – strawberries, blueberries, etc. (I usually purchase organic)
- 1/4 cup cane sugar (unprocessed for depth of flavor) or simply 1/4 cup granulated white sugar
- 2 tablespoons cornstarch
- 1 lemon zest
- 1 lemon juice
INSTRUCTIONS
- To begin, start by preheating your oven to 350°F (175°C).
- In a big mixing bowl, combine the flour, oats, and brown sugar, ensuring a thorough mixing.
- Incorporate the extra virgin olive oil (EVOO) into the mixture, mixing it with a large sppoon until it reaches a crumbly consistency. Set aside 2 – 2.5 cups of this crumbly mixture. Use your hands to firmly press the remainder of the mixture into the base of a extra virgin olive oil (EVOO) 7×11 baking pan.
- For the filling, mix together the fruit (strawberries, blueberries, etc.), sugar, cornstarch, lemon zest, and lemon juice in a medium-sized bowl. Evenly spread this mixture over the oatmeal crust in the baking dish.
- Now, sprinkle the reserved 2-2.5 cup oatmeal crumb mixture over the fruit filling, ensuring complete coverage. Bake in the oven for approximately 30 minutes or until and the fruit filling starts to bubble (strawberry for example will start to disintegrate if you cook longer, blueberry may be able to take more heat if you can to brown the top more – experiment but it’s safer to just take it out at the 30 minute mark the first time you try this recipe.
- Allow it to cool completely before cutting it into 12 bars! In fact, it cuts so much better after you overnight in the refrigerator. If desired, you can dust them with powder sugar before serving – this makes these fruit bars look pretty.
