Strawberry Oat Bars

Servings
Makes about 9 depending on how you cut them
Strawberry Oat Bars - Thug Kitchen

How the fuck is Nature’s Valley still putting crumbs in bags and selling them as breakfast bars? Shit is disrespectful and a dry sponge would taste better than those crumb catastrophes. NOT OUR BARS. Perfect for on-the go snacking and packed with fiber, these sweet sons of bitches won’t ever let you down.

Ingredients
Oat Base:
3 cups rolled oats
1/3 cup almond butter
1/3 cup coconut oil
¼ cup brown sugar
1 ½ teaspoons baking soda
1 ½ teaspoons vanilla extract
¼ teaspoon salt
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Strawberry Filling:
2 cups chopped strawberries
1 tablespoon lemon juice
1 tablespoon sugar*
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 teaspoon cornstarch
A handful of sliced almonds, optional
Directions

Warm up your oven to 350 degrees and grease an 8 x 8 baking dish, then line it with parchment paper.

First, mix together the strawberries, lemon juice, sugar, and vanilla extract in a small bowl and let it sit while you make the oat base. In your food processor, throw the oats, almond butter, oil, brown sugar, baking soda, vanilla extract, and salt. Pulse that shit for a few seconds until there aren’t any whole oats but that shit is still coarser than flour. Scoop out 2/3 of that mixture and press it in an even layer into your prepared pan, ya know, like you’re making fucking bars. Shits not that hard.

Next, pour out the juice that was released by the strawberries, toss them with the cornstarch, and then GENTLY press them into the oat base evenly. Crumble the rest of the oat base on top, gently press that shit into the strawberries, sprinkle over the almonds and then throw that shit in the oven.

Bake for 35-45 minutes or until the top and edges start looking kinda golden brown. Let them cool completely before cutting into bars. Store these in the fridge to help them keep their shape.

*If your berries are sweet and ripe enough you can just then leave this shit out altogether.