June 20th, 2010

homemade kid bars

my kid loves bars. i have stash of them that i use when i reaaaally, reaaaaally need him to do something - translation: i bribe my kid with them.

kid bars are one of the last frontiers of ‘making everything myself.’ up until now, i’ve just simply ignored the fact that i really should be making them myself. it just seemed too hard. both in making them AND in coming up with a recipe the kid would deem an acceptable substitute for something clif was doing pretty well to begin with.

until last weekend when i had a few empty hours, a pound of blueberries and a surplus of whole grain flours. i tweaked, i tasted, i tweaked, i tasted…and i came up with a bar that works. the only criticism i got from the kid: where’s the wrapper?

blueberry kid bars

for the base layer and the topping you need:

  • 1 3/4 cups oats
  • 1/2 cup all-purpose flour
  • 1/4 cup whole wheat flour
  • 2/3 cup barely packed brown sugar
  • 1/2 t baking soda
  • 1/4 t salt
  • 1/8 t cinnamon
  • 8 T (1 stick) unsalted butter, melted

    for the filling you need:

  • 1 1/2 cups blueberries - fresh or frozen
  • 3 T vanilla sugar
  • 2 t cornstarch
  • 2 t orange zest
  • juice from half an orange

    preheat your oven to 350.
    line an 8” square baking dish with parchment paper - allow overhand on all 4 sides.
    1. combine oats, flour, sugar, baking soda and salt in a mixing bowl.
    2. add melted butter to flour mixture and mix until fully combined and crumbly.
    3. reserve 3/4 cup of flour mixture, then press the rest into the baking dish, making sure to press it into corners. this forms your base layer.
    4. bake the base layer for 10 minutes.
    5. while the base layer is baking, combine the vanilla sugar and the cornstarch. stir until cornstarch is evenly distributed.
    6. sprinkle the vanilla sugar/cornstarch mixture onto the blueberries. add the cinnamon, orange juice and orange zest then mix to fully combine.
    7. spread the blueberry mixture over the base layer.
    8. crumble the remaining topping/base layer onto the blueberries.
    9. bake for 30 minutes or until the blueberries bubbly thickly along the sides.
    10. remove baking dish from oven and allow to cool completely.
    11. remove the bars from the dish by lifting out the parchment.
    12. slice the bars into manageable bar-like servings.
    13. never buy processed bars again.
    • kid food experiment blueberries baking good ideas
    dinner time. lunch time. snack time.
    i love food all the time. thankfully, i have a job that involves food.
    which is fun. and amazing.

    i’m a baker, and i own a bakery. i love to eat, and i love to cook - most importantly i love to share food with others.

    and that’s what sprinklefingers is for - to share my food thoughts and dreams and wishes with you.

    right now i’m wishing dinner was ready.

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