These bars are a delightful little snackable bite: moreish, oaty, crumbly and jammy — some of my favourite things. Yes, they happen to be vegan, but whether you are following a plant-based diet or not, they are delicious. They are fuss-free and perfect for all of your end-of-summer picnic needs.
Blueberries work so well in little bars like this; they burst and explode in the oven between the layers, creating a jammy purple glue that sticks everything together. The best part is that the base and the crumble topping layer are essentially one recipe — just used differently to create different textures. Easy as pie.
If you’ve got regular butter in your fridge, you can use that. It can easily be substituted for the plant-based butter in this recipe if you are not vegan. While not all vegan recipes can be altered for non-vegan (and vice versa), this one works as the substitution is straightforward.
The rest of the ingredients are dry goods you probably already have in your cupboard. Flour, sugar and oats are the basics that make up the recipe for the crunchy base and the crumbly topping. Two-thirds of this mixture is packed into a square tin and baked for 10 minutes to create a base layer. The fruit is tossed with a simple mix of citrus zest, cornflour and jam, which helps to thicken the mixture as it cooks.
Cutting off family members: ‘It had never occurred to me that you could grieve somebody who was still alive’
The bird-shaped obsession that drives James Crombie, one of Ireland’s best sports photographers
The Dublin riots, one year on: ‘I know what happened doesn’t represent Irish people’
The week in US politics: Gaetz fiasco shows Trump he won’t get everything his way
Blueberry jam is the obvious choice here, but again, the recipe is forgiving; use whatever berry jam you like. I add a few flaked almonds to the remaining third of the crumbly mixture for the topping to give a nuttiness and a little more crunch. The topping is then dolloped in clusters on top before baking. It is worth doing this rather than sprinkling the whole mixture in an even layer; this allows the fruit to bubble up between the clusters and looks beautiful with the fruit poking through once cooled and sliced.
Lemon works well with blueberries as it brightens up the fruit, but you can change it up depending on what you have in your fridge and your fruit bowl. Raspberries work well with lemon or orange zest too, as do blackberries as we head into the cooler seasons.
Once baked, the bars need to cool down completely before slicing. These are like blueberry pie in a bite; jammy, crumbly and delicious.
Recipe: Vegan blueberry crumble bars
