Whole Grain Raspberry Oatmeal Bars

Valentine's Day is one of our favorite holidays around here! I love thinking about the people I love and I feel like it means spring is coming soon. We decided to dedicate some recipes to the holiday of love this week. We declared yesterday a day of cooking and I got two of my daughters involved in the fun. And, less you think cooking always goes right in this house, only two of our four recipes actually worked. Boo. But we did have two successes.



Our Whole Grain Oatmeal Bars were one of those successes. They have a nice granola-y crunch that is satisfying and hearty.

Ingredients

1 C 6-grain rolled oats (or plain rolled oats if that's easier)
1 1/2 C rolled oats
2 1/2 C whole grain flour (I used a mixture of spelt and Kamut and oats, equal parts)
1 tsp baking powder
3/4 C coconut sugar (or your favorite sugar alternative)
1/2 tsp salt
4 tsp vanilla
1 1/2 C coconut oil, melted (or your fat of choice--the original recipe called for butter)
1 C raspberry preserves (or your flavor of choice) I had some frozen raspberry puree I used :)
1/2 C unsweetened flaked coconut

*A note about coconut oil and coconut sugar. They do not taste like coconut. They are simply fat and sugar alternatives that I feel are better for me.

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

2. Combine dry ingredients in large bowl. Stir in vanilla and coconut oil until crumbly.

3. Set aside 1 C of crumb mixture and press the remaining amount evenly into a 9x13 baking pan.

4. Spread preserves over the crumb mixture. Mix coconut with the remaining crumb mixture and sprinkle over the preserves.

5. Bake for 25 to 30 minutes until coconut is lightly browned. Let cool before serving.