Blueberry Oat Squares

These are really simple and quick to make and tastes delicious. Great to keep in the fridge for a quick breakfast, mid morning snack, or late night munchies!!

I don't normally buy blueberries because they are so expensive in Malaysia. But luck would have it for me to find a 2 for 1 deal at Ben's Independent Grocer last weekend. Let me tell you how much i love this supermarket! BIG is like a mecca for foodies especially people who love fresh, gourmet, artisan produce such as the locally grown Kale which i found which was so unbelievably priced! I have been yearning to try kale after reading so much about it on line but it has always been so expensive! But lo and behold, BIG had Kale, fresh and cheap!  Will blog more about BIG and the many things i have been buying from them one of these days!


Now for the recipe. It's really easy.

Part 1
250g Blueberries
1/4 cup honey
1/2 cup water
1- 2 tsp lemon juice
1 tsp Vanilla extract

Blueberries bubbling away...almost done.
My wooden spatula stained pink forever! 

- wash the blueberries, put into pan with all the above and boil over medium flame till blueberries are soft and have popped. You can help it along by using your spatula to smash it, but not too much.

- Taste before the mixture dries up. Mine was too sour so i added 2TB of Brown sugar. The original recipe called for some cornstarch, but i didn't feel the need to use it.

- Once you are happy with the taste and its has turned into the consistency of jam or pie filling, take it off the heat and set aside. Oh you can also use this mixture for pies, puffs or muffins.

Part 2.
 3 cups oatmeal (regular,  not instant)
 ½ tsp cinnamon
 1½ tsp baking powder ( i didn't use)
 ¼ tsp salt
 1/4 cups butter, melted
 6 Tbsp honey
 6 Tbsp water
 1 tsp vanilla

Buttered and lined square tin.
It's best to leave the extra paper hanging out. Helps lifting the square out later

- Butter and line a 8 inch square tin. I used a 9 inch cos that's the only one i had.

- Put 1½ cups of the oatmeal into a food processor and process into a fine powder. Pour it into a medium-sized mixing bowl and add the remaining oatmeal, cinnamon, baking powder, and salt. Mix well.

- Stir in the melted butter, agave nectar, water and vanilla, and mix well. Spread half of the batter into the prepared pan, smoothing well to cover the bottom of the pan. Spoon the blueberry filling over the batter, and cover the blueberries with the remaining batter.

As you can see i didn't have enough for my top layer

- Bake for 30 minutes, or until the top is lightly browned. Allow to cool before cutting into Squares.

I think the next time i try this is will add some coconut on top the top later. Would taste yummy!

Raspberry Oatmeal Squares

Since I've been baking pretty much the same thing for some time now i thought I'd be a tad adventures and try out something new. I saw this on the Joy Of Baking site sometime back and thought it would be fun to do especially since the recipe required my favorite - Oatmeal!

I'm not really a raspberry type of person. I prefer orange marmalade on my toast. So i didn't really know what kind of raspberry jam to buy to make these squares. I used Chives since i normally used their marmalade, i thought it would be alright. How wrong was i! The raspberry jam was kinda jelly like, which made it really hard to spread. So what i did was mix it with some hot water till it kinda looked like a thick paste, then i spread it onto the base layer. i also think i got my ingredients measured wrongly because i could not get the remaining batter to rumble properly. It's not a very nice feeling to not have things turn out the way they should. 

The results? Too SWEET!! and not in a good way. I tried on small cut and that was it! I could not bring myself to eat it. However my colleagues thought otherwise, they loved it. So i guess i am a fussy pot after all. I've still got a pack in the fridge by the way, if anyone wants it, gimme a buzz :)

What you need

Oatmeal Base:

1/2 cup (113 grams) unsalted butter, room temperature

1 cup (215 grams) light brown sugar

1 large egg

1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

1 1/4 cups (175 grams) all purpose flour

1/2 teaspoon baking soda

1/4 teaspoon salt

2 cups (180 grams) old fashioned rolled oats, divided

Filling: 1 cup raspberry jam or preserves (homemade or store bought)

Putting it together

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (177 degrees C) and place rack in center of oven.

Butter (or use a non stick cooking spray) a 9 x 9 inch (23 x 23 cm) pan. Set aside.

Oatmeal Base:

In the bowl of your electric mixer, beat the butter and sugar until light and fluffy (about 2 - 3 minutes).

Add the egg and vanilla extract and beat until incorporated. In a separate bowl whisk together the flour, baking soda, and salt.

Add to the butter mixture and mix until well combined. Stir in 1 3/4 cups (155 grams) of the rolled oats.

Press 2/3 of the dough into the bottom of the prepared pan.

Spread the raspberry jam (preserves) over the oatmeal base.

To the remaining dough add the remaining 1/4 cup (25 grams) of rolled oats. Crumble this mixture evenly over the top of the raspberry jam.

Bake for about 25 - 30 minutes or until nicely browned.

Place on a wire rack to cool and then cut into squares