Healthy Strawberry Crumble Bars
This delicious dessert tastes like a combination of pie and cookies! These crumble bars have a soft sugar cookie crust, sweet berry filling, and oat streusel topping. They’re perfect for the 4th of July, Memorial Day, Labor Day, even Mother’s Day… Or just any day you’re craving something sweet and fruity! Leftovers will keep for at least five days (if not longer!) if stored in an airtight container in the refrigerator.
Ingredients
FOR THE TOPPING
- ½ cup (50g) instant oats (gluten-free if necessary and measured like this)
- 2 tbsp (15g) white whole wheat flour or gluten-free* flour (measured like this)
- 1 tsp ground cinnamon
- 4 tsp pure maple syrup, room temperature
- 2 tsp coconut oil or unsalted butter, melted
FOR THE FILLING
- 1 pound (454g) fresh whole Red Blossom strawberries, diced (about 3 cups — and see Notes!)
- 1 ½ tbsp (12g) cornstarch
FOR THE CRUST
- 1 ¼ cups (150g) white whole wheat flour or gluten-free* flour (measured like this)
- ¼ tsp baking powder
- ¼ tsp salt
- 1 ½ tbsp (21g) coconut oil or unsalted butter, melted
- 3 tbsp (45mL) unsweetened cashew milk, room temperature
- 1 tsp almond extract
- 1 ½ tsp liquid stevia
- 2 tbsp (30mL) pure maple syrup, room temperature
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350°F, and line an 8”-square pan with parchment paper (or coat an 8”-square pan with nonstick cooking spray).
- To prepare the topping, stir together the oats, flour, and cinnamon. Make a well in the center. Pour in the maple syrup and coconut oil or butter, and stir until all ingredients are completely incorporated.
- To prepare the filling, gently toss together the strawberries and cornstarch.
- To prepare the crust, whisk together the flour, baking power, and salt in a small bowl. In a separate bowl, whisk together the coconut oil or butter, milk, almond extract, and liquid stevia. Stir in the maple syrup. Add in the flour mixture, stirring just until incorporated.
- Press the crust into the bottom of the prepared pan into a thin, even layer using your hands. (If it sticks to your fingers, then moisten your fingers with a tiny bit of water, and continue as needed.) Spread the filling evenly across the crust. Sprinkle the oat mixture on top of the raspberries. (It tends to clump, so break it into really tiny pieces as you go!) Bake at 350°F for 32-37 minutes or until the topping feels firm, the strawberry juices look thick, and the crust appears to be done. Cool completely to room temperature in the pan, and let the bars rest for at least 3 hours once at room temperature before slicing and serving.
Notes
IMPORTANT MEASURING NOTE – READ BEFORE BEGINNING: It's extremely important to measure the oats and flour using this method or a kitchen scale! Too much of either ingredient will dry out the streusel topping and cookie crust.
IMPORTANT TOPPING NOTE – READ BEFORE BEGINNING: If you prefer a thicker layer of streusel, then double the topping.
IMPORTANT STRAWBERRY NOTE – READ BEFORE BEGINNING: Make sure to dice the strawberries so they’re really small! They should be no larger than the size of miniature chocolate chips. This small size ensures your bars bake evenly and also makes the bars easier to slice.
IMPORTANT PAN NOTE – READ BEFORE BEGINNING: If lining the pan with parchment paper, I highly recommend clamping it to the pan’s edges with binder clips (like these!) to prevent it from moving around when you press the crust across the bottom.
OATS NOTES + ALTERNATIVE: Instant oats are also called “quick cooking” or “one minute” oats. They’re smaller and thinner than traditional old-fashioned rolled oats. In a pinch, old-fashioned oats may be substituted.
FLOUR ALTERNATIVES: Whole wheat pastry flour, regular whole wheat flour, or all-purpose flour may be substituted for the white whole wheat flour.
PURE MAPLE SYRUP ALTERNATIVE: Agave or honey may be substituted for the pure maple syrup.
CORNSTARCH NOTE: The cornstarch helps thicken the juices the strawberries release while baking. I don't recommend substituting for or omitting it.
MILK ALTERNATIVES: Any milk may be substituted for the unsweetened cashew milk.
ALMOND EXTRACT ALTERNATIVE: If you aren’t a fan of almond extract (or don't have any!), then substitute vanilla extract instead.
LIQUID STEVIA NOTES + ALTERNATIVES: I highly recommend using the liquid stevia! Many stevia products have different sweetness levels, so they're not necessarily one-for-one substitutes for each other. For the best results, I recommend using the same one that I do. I buy it online here, and you’ll also use it in all of these recipes of mine.
You cannot substitute additional pure maple syrup for the liquid stevia because the cookie crust requires a precise balance of wet and dry ingredients.
However, you may substitute ½ cup + 2 tablespoons (120g) coconut sugar (or brown sugar or granulated sugar, if you aren’t concerned about keeping these cookies clean eating friendly) for both the pure maple syrup AND stevia in the cookie bars. Keep in mind that the crust won’t be as sweet and will appear “speckled” if using coconut sugar because it doesn’t dissolve as well.
GLUTEN-FREE OPTION: In the topping, any gluten-free flour (except coconut flour!) may be used for the gluten-free flour option. In the crust, use a store-bought, cup-for-cup gluten-free flour blend (I like this one!), and measure it like this.
DAIRY-FREE + VEGAN OPTION: Use coconut oil or stick-style vegan butter (I like this one and this one) instead of the unsalted butter.
For more tips and information, please see my blog post above!
{gluten-free, egg-free, dairy-free, vegan, clean eating, low fat}
DID YOU MAKE THIS RECIPE?I'd love to hear what you think of it in a comment below! If you take a picture, tag @amys.healthy.baking on Instagram or use the hashtag #amyshealthybaking.