Today, I felt really sick. You know what? As a matter of fact… I felt really sick since yesterday. I called out of work and stayed in bed. All day. This is coming from someone who can’t take naps. I enjoyed my bed day.
Today, I felt better but still snotty, still coughing, but this mama got some energy back. I even made dinner without crying. I was full on determined to provide my family with some homemade goodness.
It didn’t stop there, though. I had two cups of cranberries left from a few faded nights ago with my friend Lynn. We were making orange cosmos. With a name like orange cosmos… it required cranberry simple syrup and cranberry juice. Not orange juice. Not orange simple syrup. CRANBERRIES.
So, therefore, I made homemade cranberry simple syrup… with actual fresh cranberries. I love being all homemade and stuff, but holy moly, it takes so much time.
Anyway, I wasn’t about to let these cranberries mold the heck out in the fridge like I probably might maybe have done many times before, so I opted to make these crumble bars. I ate blueberry crumble bars that my coworker Joy made me that one beautiful Monday morning, so I was like, “oh hello leftover cranberries, let me bake you… vegan style.”
ingredients
• 3 cups flour
• 1/2 cup sugar
• 1/2 cup brown sugar
• 1 tsp baking powder
• 1/4 tsp salt
• 1/4 cup apple sauce
• 2 tsp vanilla extract
• 1 cup vegan butter, chilled, cut into cubes. (I use earth balance buttery sticks)
Filling
• 1 Tbsp cornstarch
• 1/2 cup sugar
• 1 Tbsp lemon juice
• 4 cups fresh berries of your choice
instructions
1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees fahrenheit. Line a 13×9 dish with parchment paper, set aside.
2. Whisk together flour, 1/2 cup sugar, brown sugar, baking powder, & salt.
3. In a separate bowl, whisk 1/4 cup apple sauce and vanilla together.
4. Add vanilla mixture and cold butter cubes to flour mixture. Using a pastry cutter, mix until it resembles coarse crumbs.
5. Press 1/2 of the mixture into baking dish.
6. In a separate bowl, whisk remaining 1/2 cup granulated sugar and cornstarch. Stir in lemon juice.
7. Add berries then mix to coat. Spread berries evenly over crust.
8. Sprinkle remaining crumbs over berry layer.
9. Bake for 50 minutes until golden brown.
Allow to cool for about 30 minutes before cutting into squares.
UPDATED: After I cut them in squares, I reTOASTED them in the toaster oven for four minutes lol. It made it even more crispy and crumbly. Just how my fam likes it. If you prefer the same, try this. It’s so good! I’m sure you can just rebake them in the oven, too.
Yeah, the finished uncut product looks ugly. Like let’s not eat that burnt crumbly looking thing. Hahaha. I’m not a baker, so I don’t know how things look when it’s done. I literally said “ew” when I saw this.
I used a silicone spatula to cut these in sixteen pieces. By the way, I calculated the ingredients and divided them for each serving. One serving is literally 274 calories. This could make a nice quick, possibly unfilling breakfast with your coffee or tea.
If you didn’t read the instructions fully, literally wait thirty minutes before cutting into these crumble bars. You do NOT want hot af Berry gooeyness oozing out. Maybe splatter hot berries into your impatient face? Anyways, WOW, these are so good. It’s not overly sweet, it’s just sweet enough avec ton cafe au lait or thé. Perfection!
Of course, you got to top it off with whipped cream. It adds just a tad bit of sweetness that we all crave. By the way, this recipe is totally vegan. I only try to make vegan desserts because my youngest has allergies. I’m not about to spend hours on a baked dish if not ALL of my kids can eat it lol. That’s just way too much work. Alright friends, there it is. Choose your favorite berries and make this super yummy crumble bars! See you on my next post!
