Feed Your Body Friday: Berry Crumble Bars

Happy Feed Your Body Friday, everyone!

For summer dinners, there is no point in preparing a complicated dessert when you can prepare something delicious with seasonal fruits. These Berry Crumble Bars are easy to make. Perfect for any type of baker, even the most amateur!

Nothing is better than local berries during the summer season. All winter, we all dream of these succulent, colourful fruits! Even if most of us have the opportunity to enjoy berries throughout the year thanks to modern agriculture and today’s imports, we can all taste the difference during berry season. Whether you pick your berries fresh from the plant or buy them at the market directly from your local farmer, now is the perfect time to indulge in those delicious natural sugars.

These bars with fresh fruit are just a delight with a sandy layer from below and a layer of crumble from above. Super melting in the mouth the hardest step of the recipe will be to cut the fruits to mix them in a little sugar that’s it! And not to forget that the smell of the bars when they bake in the oven is very intoxicating!

No matter what time of day, these Berry Crumble Bars will give you all the energy you need to get through your busy day!

Preparation Time: 25 minutes

Cook Time: 55 minutes

Total Time: 1 hour, 20 minutes

Serves: 10 bars

Ingredients :

• 1 cup fresh strawberries, coarsely chopped
  
• 1 cup fresh blueberries
  
• 1/2 cup chia seeds
  
• 1/4 cup water
  
• 1/4 cup brown sugar
  
• 2 tsp. lime juice
  
• 1 cup all-purpose flour
  
• 1/2 cup all wheat flour
  
• 1 tsp. baking powder
  
• 1/4 brown sugar
  
• 1/2 cup oats
  
• 1/2 cup coconut oil
  
• 1 egg
  
• 1 tbsp. almond milk
  
• ¼ cup coconut, grated
  

Preparation:

1. In a saucepan, mix strawberries and blueberries with the brown sugar, the chia seeds, the lime juice, and water. Bring to a boil, reduce heat, and simmer for 10 minutes. Reserve.
   
2. Preheat the oven to 375 F˚. In a blender, combine all-purpose flour, all wheat flour, baking powder, brown sugar, oat, coconut oil, milk, and egg. Mix in blender until a moist dough is obtained.
   
3. Layer parchment paper at the bottom of a square pan.
   
4. Divide the dough in half and squeeze one half into the bottom of a square pan of about 9 inches. Pour the fruit mixture over and sprinkle with remaining dough. Sprinkle with grated coconut and cover with aluminum foil.
   
5. Bake for 25 minutes and remove the aluminum foil. Continue cooking for 10 minutes, or until the dough turns golden and the fruit juices form small bubbles.
   
6. When cooked, let it cool and place the dish in the refrigerator. Before serving, take out the dish and cut the crumble into bars. Enjoy!
   

Tip: If you plan to use your berries the same day that you bought them, keep them on the counter (they cook better at room temperature). If you plan to cook them in the next few days, wait until that day to wash them. It’s better to use them within two days of buying them, so don’t buy them too far in advance!

There’s so much texture in these crumble bars and the dough really holds up to the juicy berries. I definitely had these for breakfast, or with a scoop of vanilla ice cream for dessert. The layer in the middle can be made with whatever berry you would like because berries and crumbles are made-for-each-other!

They are perfectly soft, a little sweet, and a whole lot of delicious.