Strawberry Oatmeal Bars

It's strawberry season! Whether you're growing strawberries in your yard, or just grabbing them from the store, right now they are at their sweetest and most nutritious. These strawberry oatmeal bars are low in added sugar but packed with flavor! They're a great dessert to bring to cookouts or road trips because they travel really well!

Serves 16
Prep time 20 minutes
Cook time 35 minutes

Ingredients:

• 1 cup old-fashioned rolled oats
• ¾ cup whole-wheat flour
• 1/3 cup light brown sugar
• ½ tsp ground cinnamon
• ½ tsp ground ginger
• ¼ tsp salt
• 6 tbsp unsalted butter, melted
• 1 tsp vanilla
• 2 cups strawberries, diced small
• 1 tsp cornstarch
• 1 tbsp lemon juice
• 1 tbsp granulated sugar

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees F. Line an 8x8 baking pan with parchment paper and spray with non-stick spray.
2. In a medium bowl, combine oats, flour, brown sugar, cinnamon, ginger, and salt, stir to combine. Melt butter in a small bowl, add vanilla. Stir butter mixture into the flour mixture and stir until combined and clumpy.
3. In another small bowl, combine chopped strawberries, cornstarch, lemon juice, and sugar.
4. Press half of the oat and flour mixture into your baking pan in an even layer. Scatter strawberries over the top and spread them into an even layer. Top with remaining crumb topping.
5. Bake for 35-40 minutes or until bubbly and golden. Cool bars completely. When cool, but bars into 16 even squares and serve.