Oats and Berry Squares
We baked a few goodies for the Holiday Season - we meaning me mainly, with my little girl being a fairly willing but rather inexperienced sous chef :)
Mostly Christmas Sugar cookies, some Lemon Butter cookies and a batch of these fairly "healthy" oats and berry squares. I had canned some Blueberry+Raspberry preserves from all the berries we picked over summer which seemed like a good filling for these simple oats and berry bars.
If using butter alternatives like Smart Balance™ or Earth Balance™ they don't behave the same way as traditional butter - they are too soft. If shaping them into cookies, preferably refrigerate for 2-4 hrs before working with it and even then, work really fast... but, as far as these bars go, it seemed fine - we just want a crumbly mixture to pack at the bottom and the Smart Balance™ Omega that I used seemed to work all right.
Ingredients
1 cup firmly packed dark brown sugar
½ cup Smart Balance™ Omega butter or regular unsalted butter
1 cup unbleached all purpose flour
1 cup quick-cooking oats
1 teaspoon baking powder
½ cup berry preserves
Preparation
- Beat brown sugar and butter until fluffy
- Stir in flour and baking powder till it makes a crumbly mixture; reserve ¼ cup (or more) mixture for topping
- Grease an 8-inch baking pan and pat the crumbly mixture at the bottom in a single uniform layer; spread the berry preserve in a single uniform layer over it; top with the reserved crumbly mixture
- Bake in a 350°F oven for about 30-40 minutes till brown
- Cool on a wire rack and cut into little squares or into rectangular bars. I like to cut it into little squares so it is easy to allow the kids to enjoy a reasonable portion at a time.
5 Comments:
At 10:51 PM, gerda said…
Does your comment about earth balance margarine being too soft also include the Earth Balance Vegan Buttery Sticks?
At 7:30 AM, Siri said…
It is interesting how you replace butter with smart balance. is there a big difference in the taste?.. I wish to start using alternatives to butter..
Happy New Year 2010 sheela - to you and your family.
Siri
At 2:24 PM, ruchikacooks said…
Wishing you all a very happy new year Sheela.
At 8:26 PM, Sheela said…
HI Gerda, I have not used the buttery sticks ou mentioned - just the spreadable butter that comes in a tub.
HI Siri, I don't see any difference, but that could be because we use the same for toast and other uses so we probably got used to it :)
Wonderful 2010 to you and your family too!!
HI Ruchika, Thanks a bunch for having us in your thoughts! Wishing you the best in 2010!
At 8:16 AM, Anonymous said…
Sheela,
Thought you should start the New Year with a Blog Award. Go here to
grab your honor--
http://proactiveblackparenting.blogspot.com/2009/12/15-fabulous-blogs-share-love-and-award.html.
You so deserve it and more! Happy New Year!
Much love!
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