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Cherry Oat Bars - gluten free

Lynn
A cherry filled, gluten-free bar with just a wee bit of sugar.
5 from 3 votes
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Cook Time 40 minutes
Total Time 40 minutes

Ingredients
  

For the Filling

  • 2 cups frozen pitted cherries (or any other berry)
  • 1/4 cup maple syrup
  • 3 TBS chia seeds
  • 1 tsp vanilla extract

For the crust

  • 1 cup oatmeal gluten-free if so desired (I use Bob's Red Mill Oats)
  • 1 cup almond meal
  • 1/4 cup sugar I used palm sugar, but could use white sugar. Brown sugar or a liquid sweetener makes the crust soft
  • 4 TB almond butter
  • 1 flax egg 2 TBS water and 1 TBS ground flax, mixed and set aside for 5 minutes
  • 2 TB refrigerated palm shortening I found coconut oil made the crust soft, but could probably use butter
  • 2 TB Tapioca Flour I used (I use Bob's Red Mill Oats

For the crumb topping

  • 1/4 cup oats I use Bob's Red Mill Oats
  • 1/4 cup palm sugar
  • 1/4 unsweetened shredded coconut (I use Bob's Red Mill )
  • 1/4 cup slivered or sliced almonds
  • 2 TB refrigerated palm shortening
  • pinch of salt

Instructions
 

For the filling

  • Combine cherries and maple syrup in small pan and heat on medium heat until bubbly.
  • Lower your heat and let simmer for 5 minutes
  • Add your chia seeds and continue to simmer for 5 more minutes
  • Remove from the heat and add vanilla.
  • Let cool at room temperature and then refrigerate.
  • You can do this part in the evening and let it sit in your fridge overnight. The cooler the better. Typically, I start my cherries in the morning and end up finishing the recipe 4-5 hours later.

For the crust

  • Preheat oven to 350'F
  • Place the oatmeal in your food processor and pulse until the flakes are about a quarter of the size they were originally
  • Add remaining ingredients, except palm shortening, and pulse again until combined.
  • Add palm shortening and pulse until just combined. You may have some little bits of the shortening still showing, but you don't want to overmix.
  • Press your crust into a parchment paper lined, 8X8 baking dish. Really press it down and make sure it gets into all the corners.
  • Bake for 20 minutes
  • Remove and let cool completely before topping with cherries/ berries

For the crumble topping

  • Combine all ingredients in your food processor
  • Press into cherry mix
  • Once assembled, put back into oven at 350' for 20 minutes.
  • Let cool completely before slicing.

Notes

Other berries, especially raspberries, are higher in pectin than cherries and so will most likely need a little less chia. Not sure it'd make a big difference, but just something to know. You can play around with the amount of chia you use to get the desired thickness.
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