Chocolate Cherry Oat Bars

by Kayla Berman on July 10, 2020 1 comment

Y’all unless you are completely new here, you know I love chocolate. I mean who doesn’t? It is quite possibly the best food on this earth and I am not exaggerating. And if you follow me on instagram, @wellnessbykay, you know that I am currently obsessed with cherries. I knew I needed to put these two deliciously amazing ingredients together and came up with these Chocolate Cherry Oat Bars. The chocolate and cherry combination works wonderfully in these buttery, soft, and chewy bars. It is truly fantastic and you guys must try!

What you need for these Chocolate Cherry Oat Bars!

These Chocolate Cherry Oat Bars are super simple to make and are incredibly delicious! There are on the slightly more indulgent side because of the use of butter, but I honestly love butter in my sweet treats. It provides a truly scrumptious taste that you just can’t get from any other alternative ingredient! However these bars are also full of healthier ingredients such as whole wheat pastry flour, coconut sugar, oats, and applesauce.

Ingredients

Butter: Like I said above these bars use butter and gives that rich flavor that we all know and love! Not a lot is needed, but it’s just enough.
Applesauce: I love to use applesauce in my baked goods as an alternative to more oil or butter! It provides moisture and a little bit of sweetness.
Coconut Sugar: Coconut sugar is one of my favorite refined sugar free options! Plus I think it tastes a little similar to brown sugar, which works deliciously with the butter in this recipe & adds to that classic cookie taste I was kind of going for.
Whole Wheat Pastry Flour: This is by far my favorite gluten filled flour to use in recipes! I find that it can be used pretty interchangeably with all purpose flour, but adds a nutritional boost. It also makes a lighter, softer baked good than regular whole wheat flour does.
Oats: Oat bars gotta have oats people! I used old fashioned in this recipe and I am not sure how any other type of oat would work.
Chocolate & Cherries: The same as above, these are chocolate cherry oat bars so we’ve gotta have chocolate and cherries! I used semi sweet dairy free chocolate chips, but I think dark chocolate would also taste delicious. For the cherries I pitted and chopped them very small.
Lastly we’ve got a splash of Vanilla Extract and a pinch of Salt for flavor as always. And Baking Powder for a little rise.

How to make these Chocolate Cherry Oat Bars!

Set the oven to 350 degrees.
In a mixing bowl combine the butter, egg, applesauce, coconut sugar, and vanilla extract. This works best with a hand mixer, but if you do not have one a whisk or spoon will also work.
In a separate bowl combine the whole wheat pastry flour, oats, baking powder, and salt.
Add the wet ingredients to the dry ingredients and combine.
Stir in the cherries and chocolate chips.
Pour the batter into a greased or lined 8×8 baking dish. Top with more cherries, chocolate, and a sprinkle of salt.
Bake for 17-20 minutes. I like mine a little on the undercooked side so I went with 17!
Let cool, cut into squares, and enjoy!

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Connect with me!

If you make these Chocolate Cherry Oat Bars or any of my other recipes, I would absolutely love to know! Tag me @wellnessbykay on instagram so I can see and share your recreations!