Healthy Strawberry Oat Squares with Homemade Jam

Directions: Preheat oven to 350F. Line a square pan (I used a 9×9) with parchment paper and oil the sides of the pan and base. In a medium sized pot, add the chopped strawberries and sugar. Heat over low until the strawberries begin to sweat and it gets a bit watery. Once it heats down a bit, add in the chia seeds, and stir well. Bring to a boil and then simmer over low to medium heat for at least 10 minutes. Once it has thickened a bit, remove from heat and cool for 5-10 mins. You may also add arrowroot powder to thicken it up more if desired, but I didn’t have any. In a small bowl, mix the chia or flax egg and set aside. In a large bowl, mix the oat base dry ingredients: oats, flour, Sucanat/brown sugar, baking soda, salt. In a small bowl, mix the melted earth balance, maple syrup, almond milk, and chia egg. Stir well. Add the wet mixture (reserving 1/2 cup of the mixture) to the dry and mix well, using hands if necessary. Pour the oat mixture onto the square pan and press down with fingers. Use a pastry roller to smooth out if desired. Pour on strawberry mixture and smooth out. Now sprinkle on the reserved 1/2 cup oat mixture and sprinkle on. Now sprinkle on 1 tbsp of sesame seeds or coconut. Bake at 350F for approximately 30 minutes. Allow to fully cool for at least 30-40 minutes before gently removing from pan. Slice and then store in a container in the fridge to keep firm. In my first attempt at making the strawberry ‘jam’ I added in a tablespoon of cornstarch after about 10 minutes of cooking. I was left with clumpy white bits of cornstarch throughout. Flop #1. I think I should have thinned it out with a bit of water first. Second batch: For the second batch of jam, I thickened it up with chia seeds! Arrowroot powder might work well too. Spread your delicious crumbly mixture into the pan: Roll it out if you are obsessed with your Dollarstore pastry roller like I am. Mmmm. Smooth and lovely. Spread on your cooled jam: crumble on the oat mixture that you set aside… Sprinkle on sesame seeds or coconut to make it really pop. Bake for about 30 minutes at 350F. That’s what I’m talking about. Slice into 16 squares. or you can make bars and wrap them up for lunch! You will not be able to eat just one. Three if you are lucky. I had to shove these into the freezer asap. ;) They are delicious. I’m thinking you could have a lot of fun with this recipe. More fun than should be legal perhaps. You could try making blueberry, raspberry, or even peach jam! I am getting excited just thinking about the possibilities… Update: A comment below suggested making these with pumpkin butter! That would be wickedly delicious and seasonally appropriate to boot.