Blueberry Sunrise Fruit Bars

By Chef Michelle Austin

Fall is a great time to get your color on! Local farmer’s markets burst with a rainbow variety of the freshest fruits and vegetables. From farm to table, show your kids where their food comes from.

My Blueberry Sunrise Fruit Bars are inspired by my Aunt Carol’s Crumbles. Growing up, her homegrown blueberries of bubbling goodness, served with hand-churned vanilla ice cream, capped off many a late-afternoon meal.

My fruit bar recipe is a fun and easy dish, perfect for breakfast or anytime. The fruit bars keep well up to three days refrigerated (if not devoured first).

Blackberries, strawberries, cherries, raspberries, peaches, mango, apple and even fig make tasty options, too.

Breakfast Bar

Bar Base

1 1/4 cup all-purpose flour
1 1/4 cup rolled oats
1 cup brown sugar
3/4 tsp salt
3/4 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp cinnamon
3/4 stick unsalted butter (or solid vegetable shortening)
1/2 cup carob or semi-sweet chocolate chips

Filling:

1/4 cup brown sugar
1 tbl lemon zest
1/2 tsp cinnamon
2 tbl all-purpose flour
1 lb mixed berries – blueberries, strawberries, raspberries
1/4 cup lemon juice
2 tbl unsalted butter

Directions:

1. In food processor, mix ingredients while adding the butter and pulse. (This forms a loose crumb mixture.)
2. Separate 1½ cups of pulsed mixture for the top of the bar.
3. Press remaining in a sprayed, 11’’-by-7’’ baking dish. Bake at 350 degrees for 12-15 minutes.
4. Let cool on a wire rack and set aside.
5. For the filling, mix sugar, lemon zest, cinnamon and flour in a bowl, and then add fruit, sugar and lemon juice. Toss.
6. Slightly melt butter in microwave and stir with a spoon into wet fruit mixture.
7. Add to cooled crust and top with remaining crumble.
8. Bake for 40 minutes.
9. Let cool and cut into bars. Eat one or more and wrap the rest in wax paper.

My recipes are meant to become YOUR recipes! Let me know what works or what you did to substitute one ingredient for another. Send your creative cook comments to editor@aanma.org ^[1].

Chef Michelle Austin is the founder of On Thyme Consulting and co-owner of Just to Please You Productions. She writes the “All In Good Taste” column ^[2] exclusively for AANMA’s Allergy & Asthma Today ^[3] magazine.

Reviewed by Carol Jones, RN, AE-C.

Related posts:

1. Raising Happy Foodies ^[4]
2. Bring on the Holiday Yummies ^[5]
3. All in Good Taste: Cool Calcium Choices ^[6]
4. All in Good Taste: Spread Out a Safe Picnic ^[7]