Blueberry Oat Bars (vegan)

For the Bar:
2 cups oat flour (can be made by putting 2cups oats in a food processor)
1 cup rolled oats
1 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp salt
1 tsp cinnamon
6 tbsp agave nectar
1 large, ripe banana
1/4 cup coconut oil
1/4 cup almond milk
1 tsp vanilla

For the Topping:
1/3 cup blueberry preserves (I use Polaner All Fruit)
2 tbsp vegan shortening
3 tbsp rolled oats
3 tbsp natural sugar

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

2. Mix the oat flour, rolled oats, salt and cinnamon in a large bowl. In a food processor (or a bowl with a hand mixer), mix the banana, oil, agave, almond milk and vanilla. Add to wet ingredients to dry and mix well.

3. Spread mixture into a baking pan (8x8 or 9x9 work best) and top with preserves. In food processor, pulse the shortening, oats and sugar into a topping and dot the preserves with it.

4. Bake for 30 - 35 mins - or until top is golden . Let hot preserves cool well before cutting.

My notes:
I spray the pan with a little bit of cooking spray. Bars come out easier.

This is a rather dense bar. I also fold in about 3/4 cup of fresh blueberries into the mixture before spreading in the pan. Gives a little extra moisture and blueberry flavor.

To cut back on the extra fat & sugar (as well as being easier to make), I omit the topping. I spread the blueberry preserves on top of the mixture and sprinkle with a few rolled oats before baking. Still tasted great in my opinion. The photo shows the bars fresh from the oven sans topping - still delicious!