Cranberry Chia Oat Sandwich Bars

Healthy Festive Baking

Yay! It’s FINALLY time for us to celebrate something and bring a little bit of much needed joy and sparkle into our lives! With the year that we’ve all had, I feel mighty restrained to have waited until December to start posting festive recipes, but now that I’ve opened the flood gates, I can’t promise I’ll ever close them! 

These Cranberry Chia Oat Bars are based on an old recipe of mine where I used summer berry chia jam in the middle instead. But what with it being almost Christmas and all, it would be shameful not to give them a festive twist and to substitute them for cranberries! 

Cranberries are naturally very sharp and tart so the recipe for the chia jam has a lot more sugar in it than I would normally use to make other chia jams. This also works brilliantly with plum or apple chia jam, as well as the obvious berry version. We don’t normally eat loads of cranberries but they are rich in antioxidants, vitamins and minerals and are particularly high in Vitamin C.  Chia seeds are a great source of soluble fibre and contain heart-healthy plant-based Omega 3 fats, so are a wonderful addition to your diet. 

These sweet and crumbly bars are a great multi-tasker, as they make a wonderful breakfast, afternoon snack or dessert.  They just happen to be gluten-free and vegan and are full of nutritious and wholesome ingredients. They provide a great start to the day with a mixture of wholegrain complex carbohydrates, more plant-based protein than an egg, and a ton of fibre that keeps you fuller for longer and blood sugar levels more stable.  They can be enjoyed warm or cold, so are also a great grab ‘n go option for the mornings.  

One slice provides 271 calories, 7g of plant-based protein and 6g of fibre.  They also provide a third of my daily calcium requirements, which is great news for those that are dairy-free.

Best served warm with a dollop of cream or yogurt.

INGREDIENTS

Makes 12-14 Bars

For the crust

·     150g Wholegrain Flour of your choice (I usually use Millet Flour or Oat Flour)
·     150g Jumbo Oats
·     160g Almond Flour
·     25g Peanut Butter Protein Powder OR 50g Peanut Butter (I used “That Protein” Nutty Nutty Protein Powder)
·     30g Hemp Seeds
·     ½ teaspoon Salt
·     80g Butter or Coconut Oil
·     130g Maple Syrup
·     40mls Milk of your choice 

For the filling

·     300g Fresh Cranberries
·     50g Chia Seeds
·     130-140ml Water
·     Approx 130g Erythritol (or sugar) to taste as cranberries can be very tart 

NOTE:  If you don’t have any oat flour to hand – simply blitz some oats in a high-speed blender to make some.

METHOD

·     Preheat oven to 180 degrees.
·     In a saucepan, heat the cranberries over a medium heat with the water and the erythritol (or sugar of your choice).
.·     Once they have been heated for about 5 minutes and have started to pop and burst through their skin, mash them, add the chia seeds and turn off the heat.
·     Mix well, and add more sugar if they are still too sour, and set aside to thicken.
·     In the meantime, line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
·     Put all of the ingredients for the crust (apart from the jumbo oats and hemp seeds) in a high-speed blender and blitz together to form a dough.
·     Add the oats and hemp seeds separately so that the dough still has some texture to it. Mix well.
·     Set aside ¼ of the dough mixture for the topping, and use the rest to form the base.
·     Using your fingers and knuckles, press the dough for the crust firmly down on the parchment paper until it is approximately 2cm thick.  It’s important to do this firmly so that it doesn’t just crumble apart. There is no need to go all the way to the edges, the bars hold up pretty well by themselves.
·     Spread a thick layer of the berry chia jam on top, so that it covers the base evenly.
·     Then sprinkle the rest of the dough to form crumbles on the top, leaving some of the berry filling visible so that it can ooze out of the top.
·     Pop in the oven for approximately 35 minutes or until the topping has turned golden. 
·     Make sure you let it cool and harden slightly before you cut it into bars otherwise it will be too crumbly.
·     Enjoy immediately and store the remainder in an airtight container for several days in the fridge.  
·     Or else wrap the bars individually in parchment paper, put in a Ziploc bag and pop in the freezer.