Easy to make with seasonal berries and local honey
Ingredients
- 3 cups all-purpose flour, or gluten-free one-to-one flour
- 2½ cups old-fashioned oats, gluten-free
- 1 teaspoon cinnamon
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1½ cups (3 sticks) unsalted butter, softened
- 1 cup local honey
- ¼ cup brown sugar
- 2 eggs
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- 4 cups fresh blueberries
- 1 cup honey
- 2 tablespoons lemon juice
Preparation
For the jam: Place a small plate in the freezer for testing the jam.
In a large deep skillet, add blueberries, honey and lemon juice. Heat and stir until it reaches a rolling boil. Boil and stir until it thickens, 10 minutes.
Place a small spoonful of the jam onto the plate in the freezer and let sit for 30 seconds. Tilt it. If the jam slides too fast, cook another 1–2 minutes and check again. If it moves slow, it is done. Test every 1–2 minutes and do not overcook. Remove from the heat and cool to room temperature.
For the bars: Preheat oven to 350°. Line a 13- by 9-inch pan with parchment paper or grease with cooking spray.
In a large bowl, mix together the flour, oats, cinnamon, baking soda and salt.
In another large bowl, beat together butter, honey and brown sugar until creamy, about 2–3 minutes. Add eggs and vanilla and beat until incorporated, about 1 minute (it may look curdled). Gradually beat in the flour mixture.
Evenly spread no more than half of the dough into the bottom of the pan. Top with cooled blueberry jam. Top with the remaining dough.
Bake 30 minutes, or until golden brown. Cool completely before cutting into squares.
