Scrumptious Shortbread Bars with Berries and Oats

Shortbread bars with a berry good twist! The mixture of flavors is just too tasty to withstand.

These combined berry oat bars have a candy, buttery shortbread crust, that’s then stuffed with a tangy berry sauce. Making it excellent for each breakfast and dessert, particularly this time of 12 months.

You need to use any mixture of berries you prefer to create the gooey, jammy heart. And when paired with probably the most irresistible oat shortbread crust, these bars are a must-try recipe. Plus, they make nice edible presents this xmas as nicely.

If you happen to’re searching for one thing particular, but in addition a bit of bit distinctive, for a vacation potluck or Christmas dessert, these shortbread bars are it!

I might image them as cute edible presents in a jar too, are you able to? And even simply placing all of the substances in a jar to make ’em contemporary, with a print out of the recipe to go together with it. 

Substances 

• 2 cups all-purpose flour
• 2 cups quaint oats
• 1-½ cups brown sugar, packed
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• ½ teaspoon salt
• 1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, chilly
• 2 cups combined contemporary or frozen berries (see notes for details about utilizing frozen berries)
• ¾ cup granulated white sugar
• 1 tablespoon corn starch
• Juice of half a lemon (about 1 tablespoon)
• Zest of 1 lemon (about 1.5 teaspoons)

Learn how to Make Shortbread Bars

Prep

1. Begin by preheating your oven to 350 levels F.

2. Subsequent, line a 9×9 sq. baking pan* with parchment, permitting it to hold over the perimeters of the pan if doable, and clipping the perimeters to the perimeters as wanted. Put aside. *A 9×9 baking pan will yield 16 sq. bars, roughly two inches in size/width/peak. You need to use an even bigger pan, equivalent to a 9×13, to make thinner bars.

Make the crust/topping

3. In a big mixing bowl, mix the flour, oats, brown sugar, baking powder, vanilla extract, and salt. 

4. Minimize within the butter and blend till crumbly.

5. Press ⅔ of the oat combination firmly into the underside of your ready baking pan. Reserve the remaining oat combination for the crumble on the finish.

Make the combined berry filling

6. In a big mixing bowl, toss collectively the berries, granulated white sugar, corn starch, lemon juice, and lemon zest till the berries are coated nicely. As your berries sit within the bowl, the lemon juice will render the pure juices from the berries. You’ll want to drain any extra juice earlier than spreading the berries over the shortbread crust. For this reason I additionally suggest mixing the oat shortbread combination first, in order to keep away from any extra sitting/sweating within the berry combination.

7. Use the sting of a mixing spoon or silicone scraper to softly macerate among the berries, lowering any very massive chunks. You don’t should macerate the berries if you happen to don’t need to. My blackberries had been very massive, so I wished to get them minimize up a bit and incorporate the items all through my berry layer.

8. Spoon the berry combination over the pressed oat crust layer in your baking pan.

High the bars and bake

9. Crumble the remaining oat combination over the berry layer, sprinkling evenly from edge to edge.

10. Bake for 45-50 minutes, till the crust is totally baked, the berry layer is bubbly, and the topping is golden brown. If you happen to discover that your topping is browning too shortly within the oven, you possibly can cowl the pan with aluminum foil and return it to baking. Be very cautious to keep away from burns.

11. Permit the bars to chill fully to room temperature earlier than chopping and serving. They are going to crumble simply in the event that they aren’t cool, and can agency up upon cooling.

Notes

What sort of berries ought to I take advantage of?

Use any mixture of berries you want. I used blackberries and raspberries. You might add or substitute sliced strawberries, blueberries, and/or black raspberries if desired.

Can I take advantage of frozen berries for the shortbread bars?

Sure! If wanted, you should use frozen combined berries. It’s possible you’ll want so as to add a number of additional minutes of baking time because the berry layer will probably be frozen earlier than baking. 

One factor to notice, if you happen to’re utilizing frozen berries, you do NOT have to thaw them beforehand. Your berry layer will probably be too juicy and will not set correctly whereas baking, if you happen to do.

Can I take advantage of a distinct type of oats?

You’ll want to use quaint rolled oats, NOT quick-cooking or metal minimize oats. If you happen to use these, you’ll compromise on consistency and cooking time.

Can I take advantage of salted butter as an alternative?

Sure, you should use salted butter, however if you happen to do that, skip the added salt.

How ought to I retailer the bars?

You’ll be able to retailer leftovers lined at room temperature for as much as 5 days, or within the fridge for per week. 

Or as another choice, you possibly can wrap and freeze the bars for as much as 2 months. Simply deliver them again as much as room temperature earlier than serving.

Combined Berry Oat Shortbread Bars

Brittni

These combined berry oat shortbread bars are a candy, buttery shortbread crust deal with stuffed with a tangy berry sauce, that’s excellent for each breakfast and dessert alike. Use any mixture of berries you prefer to create the gooey, jammy heart, sandwiched between probably the most irresistible oat shortbread crust and topping that makes these bars so divine.

• Chopping board

• Sharp knife

• Mixing bowls

• Measuring cups

• Measuring spoons

• Mixing spoon/silicone scraper

• Hand mixer, stand mixer, or pastry fork/pastry whisk (I used a Danish pastry whisk, as seen within the photos)

• 9×9 sq. baking pan (9×13 for thinner bars)

•  Parchment paper

• Kitchen clips (to carry the parchment in place)

• 2 cups all-purpose flour
• 2 cups quaint oats
• 1-½ cups brown sugar packed
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• ½ teaspoon salt
• 1 cup 2 sticks unsalted butter, chilly
• 2 cups combined contemporary or frozen berries See notes for details about utilizing frozen berries
• ¾ cup granulated white sugar
• 1 tablespoon corn starch
• Juice of half a lemon about 1 tablespoon
• Zest of 1 lemon about 1.5 teaspoons

Prep and preheat

• Preheat your oven to 350 levels F.

• Line a 9×9 sq. baking pan with parchment, permitting it to hold over the perimeters of the pan if doable, and clipping the perimeters to the perimeters as wanted. Put aside.

Make the combined berry filling

• Use any mixture of berries you want. I used blackberries and raspberries. You might add or substitute sliced strawberries, blueberries, and/or black raspberries if desired.
• If wanted, you should use frozen combined berries. It’s possible you’ll want so as to add a number of additional minutes of baking time because the berry layer will probably be frozen earlier than baking.
  Do NOT thaw beforehand if utilizing frozen berries. Your berry layer will probably be too juicy and will not set correctly whereas baking.
• As your berries sit within the bowl, the lemon juice will render the pure juices from the berries. You’ll want to drain any extra juice earlier than spreading the berries over the shortbread crust. For this reason I additionally suggest mixing the oat shortbread combination first, in order to keep away from any extra sitting/sweating within the berry combination.
• You don’t should macerate the berries if you happen to don’t need to. My blackberries had been very massive, so I wished to get them minimize up a bit and incorporate the items all through my berry layer.
• You’ll want to use quaint rolled oats, NOT quick-cooking or metal minimize oats. If you happen to use these, you’ll compromise on consistency and cooking time.
• You need to use salted butter, however if you happen to do that, skip the added salt.
• A 9×9 baking pan will yield 16 sq. bars, two inches in size/width/peak. You need to use an even bigger pan, equivalent to a 9×13, to make thinner bars.
• If you happen to discover that your topping is browning too shortly within the oven, you possibly can cowl the pan with aluminum foil and return it to baking. Be very cautious to keep away from burns!
• Permit the bars to chill fully to room temperature earlier than chopping and serving. They are going to crumble simply in the event that they aren’t cool, and can agency up upon cooling.
• Retailer leftovers lined at room temperature for as much as 5 days, or within the fridge for per week.
• You may as well wrap and freeze these bars for as much as 2 months. Convey to room temperature earlier than serving.