Berry Jam Oat Bars (Happy Mother’s Day!)

Aight. First and foremost, Happy Mother’s Day to the most amazing woman I know.

Mamamaa!! You are not just my mentor, my cooking bud, my 24-hour therapist, my long-distance recipe guru, or my most loyal blog follower (though you are all of these things); you are one of the greatest friends I could ever in a milli years ask for and a model of the independent woman I strive to be. All cheesiness aside (this is a vegan blog, after all), I love you more than I can express and can’t wait to make this Skype reality in few short weeeeeks:

Now for the oat bars. Yesterday morning a few of those I will continue to affectionately call “los duderinos,” May, and I hit the farmer’s market and made another awesome Saturday brunch. I made these oat squares and they were supreme. My recipe was adapted from Angela’s recipe with a lot of substitutions (those guys don’t keep chia seeds or almond milk on hand, go figure). Huge holllllllllllllller to Collin for helping with the bars AND taking all of the bomb pictures. You, sir, are a gentleman and a scholar.

• 1.5 cups oats
• 1 cup whole grain or AP flour
• 1/2 teaspoon + 1/4 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon + 1/4 teaspoon sea salt
• 1/2 cup brown sugar
• 2 bananas, mashed
• 1/2 teaspoon + 1 teaspoon cinnamon
• 1/2 teaspoon nutmeg
• 1/4 cup maple syrup (or other liquid sweetener)
• 1/2 cup jam (I used awesome The Summer Kitchen hedgerow) 

Preheat oven to 350º

1. In a medium bowl, combine 1/2 cup oats, mashed bananas, flour, baking soda, sea salt, sugar, cinnamon, nutmeg. Mix well until it forms a thick dough.

2. Lightly oil a shallow baking dish (or line with parchment paper). Spread the dough to cover the base of the pan with the back of a spoon or your hands.

3. Pour the jam over the base layer and spread over generously with the back of a spoon.

4. In a bowl, combine the remaining 1 cup of oats, maple syrup, 1 teaspoon cinnamon, 1/4 teaspoon baking soda, 1/4 teaspoon sea salt. Mix well until you have a sweet, oaty mixture [you may add an additional 1/8-1/4 cup brown sugar if you want ‘em really sweet! I did…]. Spread the mixture evenly over the jam layer and pat down with hands.

5. Pop in the oven and bake for 25-30 minutes at 350º. Remove and allow to cool 30-45 minutes (it will be difficult, but the consistency is worth it!)

Enjoy! Happy Mother’s Day to all y’alls and all y’allses moms!