Good morning! How about a little cherry jam almond crumble breakfast bars sitch to go with you coffee today or this weekend perhaps??
I know what you’re thinking: breakfast? For reals? Well, yes. I suppose these could double as a dessert (bressert?) but these chewy bars really scream BREAKFAST to me, ya know?
First of all I cut down the sugar in the chewy oatmeal bar. And because the cherry jam is naturally sweet it adds the perfect touch of sweetness and picks up where the brown sugar oatmeal cookie-ish bars leave off.
The good news is that you can make these bars with any jam you prefer! Strawberry, blueberry, raspberry… a blend of all three? And just like that, a breakfast isn’t so boring.
Line a 8×8 square baking pan with parchment paper. I us a little butter to dot the bottom of the pan and the sides so the paper will stick to the pan and not flop over. Then I grease the exposed sides of the pan with butter as well.
To Make These Cherry Jam Almond Crumble Breakfast Bars You Will Need:
- unbleached all-purpose flour
- quick oats
- brown sugar
- baking soda
- salt
- unsweetened applesauce
- melted butter
- cherry jam (or your favorite)
- chopped almonds
In a large bowl measure and add in the 1 cup of both flour and oats, 1/2 cup (lightly packed) light brown sugar, 1/2 teaspoon baking soda, 1/4 teaspoon kosher salt.
Use a wooden spoon to break up the sugar and to mix all the dry ingredients together.
Add in 1/2 cup of unsweetened applesauce…
…and 5 tablespoons of melted (but has cooled) unsalted butter.
Mix until it comes together.
Like so ^.
Press a little over half of the dough into the bottom of the pan. This dough is s-t-i-c-k-y but manageable. I greased my fingers and that help only a little. Once you get the dough spread out, slide the pan on to the middle rack of your preheated 350 degree oven and bake for 12 minutes.
Remove and let cool for a few.
To the remaining oatmeal mixture add in 1/3 cup coarsely chopped almonds.
Measure out a heaping 1/2 cup of jam. I’m still in love with this color!
Pour the jam in the center of the bars and spread leaving a small border.
Use your fingers to form clumps of the remaining almond-studded dough and drop it all over. Then slide the bars back into the oven and continue to bake for 18 to 20 minutes or until the top almond crumble is lightly golden brown.
Liiiiiike so.
Allow the bars to completely cool before removing them from the pan. I popped mine into the fridge after they cooled for a bit and when I was positive that the pan wouldn’t scorch my fridge shelf.
Ta da!
Then I cut them into way to small of squares, 16 of them. I guess I was thinking that they were like brownies or something but next time, I’ll probably cut them into 6 or 9 larger squares. These are for breakfast after all.
I reeeeallly like these. After making, baking and photographing, I had three. Hey the bars are small, too small if you ask me. I also passed one out to my daughters and made my husband try a square once he was home from work. They all loved them and want me to make them with other jams. Win-Win!
Enjoy! And if you give this Cherry Jam Almond Crumble Breakfast Bars recipe a try, let me know! Snap a photo and tag me on twitter or instagram!
Almond + Cherry Jam Breakfast Bars
Ingredients
- 1 cup unbleached all-purpose flour
- 1 cup quick cooking oats
- 1/4 cup light brown sugar
- 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
- 1/4 teaspoon kosher salt
- 1/2 cup unsweetened applesauce
- 5 tablespoons unsalted butter
- 1/3 cup roughly chopped almonds
- 1/2 heaping cup cherry chia jam
Instructions
- Preheat your oven to 350 degrees and line an 8x8 baking pan with parchment paper. Use a little butter to grease the exposed sides of the pan.
- In a bowl combine the flour, oats, brown sugar, baking soda and salt. Use a wooden spoon to break up the brown sugar and mix all of the ingredients together. Next add in the applesauce and melted butter, stirring until combined.
- Press a little over half of the dough into the bottom of your prepared pan. Use your fingers to press and spread the dough on the bottom of the pan. Slide the pan on to the middle rack of your preheated oven and bake for 12 minutes. Remove and allow cool for a few minutes.
- Meanwhile add the chopped almonds to the remaining dough.
- Spread the jam onto the bars and spread, leaving a small border. Drop small clusters of the almond-studded dough on top of the jam bars and then slide back into your oven to bake for an additional 18 to 20 minutes, or when the almond crumble is lightly golden brown.
- Allow the jam bars to cool completely before cutting and serving. Once the pan has cooled down quite a bit, I like to pop the bars into the fridge to finish cooling.
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These look delicious. Do you think the recipe would work with white whole wheat flour? Thanks so much
Hi Annette! I would think it’d be fine! If you feel like it, come back and let me know how it turned out for you! Have a great weekend!