Wake Up to Blueberry Breakfast Bars

Raise your hand if you’ve ever had a slice of blueberry pie for breakfast.

*raises hand*

It’s certainly not appropriate for everyday consumption – remember, just because we run doesn’t mean we ought to eat whatever we want whenever we want – but man, it just goes so nicely with a cup of coffee.

Luckily, these Blueberry Breakfast Bars (from Whole Grain Mornings by Megan Gordon) pair nicely with your morning brew too, and they actually have some attributes (specifically, the whole grains, nuts, and seeds) that are healthy. Bake them to share at a post-run brunch, and you’ll be guaranteed to return home with an empty serving dish.

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Blueberry Breakfast Bars

Recipe from Whole Grain Mornings by Megan Gordon (Ten Speed Press, © 2013)

What you’ll need:

BLUEBERRY FILLING

• 3 cups / 720ml fresh blueberries or 1 (350g) package frozen blueberries, unthawed (blackberries, huckleberries or cherries would also work)
• 1⁄4 cup / 45g natural cane sugar
• 3 tablespoons unbleached all-purpose flour
• 2 tablespoons freshly squeezed lemon juice
• 1 tablespoon grated lemon zest
• 1 teaspoon water

WHOLE-GRAIN CRUST

• 1⁄2 cup / 50g rolled oats
• 1 cup / 100g rye flakes (If you can’t find rye flakes, feel free to use more rolled oats instead.)
• 3⁄4 cup / 60g sliced raw almonds
• 1⁄4 cup / 30g raw sesame seeds
• 1 cup / 120g whole wheat flour
• 1⁄2 cup / 75g packed light brown sugar
• 1⁄2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1 teaspoon kosher salt
• 3⁄4 teaspoon baking powder
• 1 large egg, beaten
• 8 tablespoons / 115g cold unsalted butter, cut into half-centimetre cubes, plus more for greasing the pan
• 3 to 4 tablespoons ice water

How to make it:

1. Preheat the oven to 175°C. Butter a 20-centimetre square pan.

2. To prepare the filling: In a heavy-bottomed saucepan, combine the berries, sugar, flour, lemon juice, lemon zest and water. Stir over medium heat until the mixture begins to simmer. Continue stirring until berries just begin to break down and the sauce thickens, 3 to 4 minutes. Remove from the heat.

3. To prepare the crust: In the bowl of a food processor fitted with the metal blade, pulse together the rolled oats, rye flakes, almonds, and sesame seeds just until they form a chunky, mealy texture, about 30 seconds. Add the flour, brown sugar, cinnamon, salt, and baking powder and pulse a time or two to combine. Add the egg and butter. Add ice water slowly and pulse until mixture just begins to clump together.

4. To assemble and bake the bars: Press approximately half of the crust mixture evenly into the bottom of the prepared baking pan. Pour the berry filling onto the crust and spread evenly. Scatter the remaining crust mixture across the top as you would for a fruit crisp or crumble – messy and haphazard, but evenly dispersed. Don’t worry about pressing down; it will bake into the bars beautifully.

5. Bake until the top crumble is golden brown, about 30 minutes. Let cool completely in the pan. Slice into bars. If wrapped and kept at room temperature, the bars will keep for 3 days.

Reprinted with permission from Whole-Grain Mornings by Megan Gordon (Ten Speed Press, © 2013). Cover Photo Credit: Clare Barboza.