Recipe Test-Deceptively Delicious Part 2

......Blueberry Oatmeal Bars! Looked and sounded good to me and I thought it would be a good 3 o'clock snack. But still no. Even the day after I tried giving Lil' Hunkie a bite, he actually put it in his mouth but it came right back out! 

They are very good and you can NOT taste the spinach at all! Mine turned out to be a little more crumbly than the picture due to my poor 'cut in' skills and the fact that I used what oatmeal I had instead of buying old-fashioned oats. It still tasted yummy!!

Dry ingredients.

Cut in butter....



...till it is no longer powdery.

Press1/2 mixture into pan...I don't have an 8x8 so used an 8x6 and bake for 13 minutes.

Mix spinach, blueberry preserves and vanilla together. I know...it doesn't look very appealing...but stick with me!!

Pour blueberry mixture on top of crust and then top with remaining dry mixture. Bake for 20-25 minutes.



Yummy!

Tip: let it completely cool before serving so that the taste of the spinach has a chance to disappear completely. Here's the recipe:

Blueberry Oatmeal Bars

Nonstick cooking spray

2 cups old-fashioned oats

1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour

1/2 cup sugar

1/2 tsp cinnamon

1/4 tsp baking powder

1/4 tsp salt

1 tsp pure vanilla extract

3/4 cup Balance trans-fat-free soft tub margarine spread, chilled

1 cup low-sugar blueberry preserves

1/2 cup spinach puree

1

Preheat the oven to 375 F. Coat an 8x8 inch baking pan with cooking spray.

2

In a large bowl, combine the oats, flour, sugar, cinnamon, baking powder, salt, and vanilla, and stir to mix well.  ( I prefer putting vanilla with wet ingredients. )

3

Add the margarine and cut it quickly into the dry ingredients with two knives until the mixture resembles coarse meal and is no longer powdery. Do not over mix-bits of margarine will still be visible.

4

Set aside about half of the oat mixture; press the rest of it firmly into the pan.  Bake until lightly browned at the edges (but not fully baked), 13 to 15 minutes.

5

Meanwhile, mix the preserves with the spinach puree in a small bowl.

6

Spread the blueberry mixture over the partially baked oat layer, then sprinkle with the reserved oat mixture.  Bake until the topping is slightly browned, 20 to 25 minutes.  Set the pan on a rack to cool completely before cutting into 12 bars.

♥

Hope this helps with any picky eaters out there! I highly recommend the cookbook!!