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Vegan Blueberry Crumble Bars

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The last time I made something this fruit heavy was probably last fall (I’m basically on a permanent chocolate and cookie kick). But we love berries at our house. And blueberries have been on sale, which means we’ve been hoarding an abundance of them in our fridge. This also means that sometimes we don’t get to them in time before one of the little suckers starts growing mold. If I’m going to rush to eat a whole carton of blueberries, I want to put them in these Blueberry Crumble Bars.

These bars are seriously simple and will look like you spent more time on them than you will. You whip up an easy dough that will be the base and topping for these bars. Then you’ll toss your blueberries in a few things, put it all together and throw it in the oven! I promise it really is that simple. And they’re vegan and can easily be made gluten-free! In fact, my first recipe test for these was with an all-purpose GF flour blend. Still totally delicious. The base of these bars is sweet and chewy and the blueberry lime filling is perfectly tart. The crumble adds a bit of texture and really rounds it all out. I love these so much I actually ate three of them the day I baked them (it’s fine. they’re small)! I hope you love them, too – happy baking!

Vegan Blueberry Crumble Bars
Makes 16 bars

Crust + Topping
1/3 cup melted coconut oil
1/4 cup coconut sugar
1/3 cup maple syrup
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 cup + 2 Tbsp all-purpose flour (or gluten-free all-purpose flour blend)
1 1/4 cups old-fashioned oats
Pinch of salt
Blueberry Filling
2 1/2 cups fresh blueberries
2 Tbsp coconut sugar
2 Tbsp fresh lime juice*
Zest from 1 lime* (optional)
1 1/2 Tbsp tapioca starch/flour (or 3/4 Tbsp corn starch)

1.) Preheat your oven to 350°F and spray an 8×8″ baking dish with olive oil – or other non-stick spray. Line sprayed dish with parchment paper, being sure to leave “handles” hanging over two of the edges.

2.) In a small bowl, combine the melted coconut oil, coconut sugar, maple syrup, and vanilla extract; set aside. In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, oats, and salt. Add the wet ingredients to the dry and mix with a large wooden spoon or spatula until just combined (mixture will be crumbly).

3.) Set aside 3/4 cup of the crumbly dough (for your topping). Firmly press the rest of the dough into the bottom of your prepared baking dish; set aside.

4.) Rinse your fresh blueberries and pat dry. In a medium bowl, combine the coconut sugar, lime juice, lime zest, and tapioca starch until no longer lumpy. Add the blueberries and mix until fruit is well coated.

5.) Add the blueberry mixture to your baking dish, spreading the fruit in an even layer. Be sure to scrape any extra liquid into the dish. Sprinkle the 3/4 cup of crumbly dough over the blueberries.

6.) Bake at 350°F for 25-35 minutes or until fruit is bubbling. Allow your bars to cool completely before removing from the dish (using the parchment paper handles) to cut into squares. I cut mine four across and four down, which yields 16 bars. Store the bars in a sealed container at room temperature or in the refrigerator. Bars can be frozen ahead of time and then thawed in the refrigerator – be sure to pop them in the oven for a couple of minutes to re-heat and serve fresh! Enjoy! 

*lemon will work just fine. I personally love the slight lime flavor that the zest adds to these!

Healthier Banana Blueberry Muffins (dairy-free!)

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At our house, we love a good muffin. And what’s not to like about a banana muffin topped with sweet, crumbly oats and bursting with blueberries?! The best part is that these are low in sugar, and I use low GI coconut sugar + unrefined honey to sweeten these bad boys. And my picky toddler loves them! For real though. She’s hit or miss on fresh blueberries, but these muffins get her every time. It’s a win-win!

These muffins are so easy to get together. If you don’t have coconut sugar, you can use any granulated sugar. And if you only have all-purpose flour stocked in your pantry, then feel free to use only AP flour – I just prefer WWPF because it creates such a fluffy muffin! I throw in a bit of white whole wheat flour, too. It’s important that your ingredients are room temperature so your coconut oil stays liquid. And you don’t want to use frozen blueberries – I tried that once and ended up with blue muffins. Yes, the batter turned blue, and it wasn’t cute. Or appetizing. So fresh blueberries are the way to go! Happy baking!

Healthier Banana Blueberry Muffins
Makes 12 muffins

Muffins
1/4 cup coconut sugar
1/4 cup honey
2 medium ripe bananas (1 cup mashed banana)
1/2 cup almond milk, room temp
2 large eggs, room temp
1/4 cup coconut oil, liquid
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 1/4 cups whole wheat pastry flour
1 cup white whole wheat flour (or whole wheat flour)
3/4 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp fine sea salt
2 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp nutmeg
1 cup + 1/4 cup fresh blueberries (washed and patted dry)
Oat Topping
1/3 cup old-fashioned oats
2 Tbsp coconut sugar
2 Tbsp flour of your choice
2 Tbsp liquid coconut oil or melted vegan butter

1.) Preheat your oven to 350°F and prepare your muffin pan by adding paper liners or spraying with olive oil/nonstick spray.

2.) In a medium bowl, combine the coconut sugar and honey. Mash your bananas and add to the sugar mixture. Add the almond milk, eggs, coconut oil, and vanilla extract, and whisk with a fork until everything is totally combined.

3.) In a large bowl, whisk together the flours, baking powder, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, and nutmeg. Add 1 cup of the blueberries and gently toss. Pour liquid ingredients into dry and gently fold until no flour pockets remain.

4) Fill muffin pan nearly to the top. Sprinkle the 1/4 cup of blueberries on top of the muffins, slightly pressing the fruit into the batter; set aside.

5) Make your oat topping by combining the oats, coconut sugar, flour, and oil/vegan butter in a small bowl. Sprinkle over the unbaked muffins.

6.) Bake your muffins at 350°F for 17-23 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into a muffin comes out clean or with small crumbs. Let baked muffins rest in the pan for 10 minutes before moving to a cooling rack. Enjoy warm! Store leftovers in an airtight container at room temperature, or in the refrigerator for a longer shelf life.

Vegan Tahini No-Bake Cookies

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No-bake cookies are one of those ultra simple, totally sweet cookies that just taste like home. I grew up eating no-bakes and even remember my mom waking up early when I was a kid to make them before she went to work. She always remembered to leave a small container of cookies for me and my siblings – I would have been heartbroken had she not. When I visited home during the first trimester of my pregnancy, no-bakes were one of the few foods I could stomach, and my mom happily made them for me! They’re just that good.

Now I’ve baked my own version of no-bake cookies using both coconut oil and coconut sugar and like them well enough. But then I decided to use vegan butter and add tahini in place of peanut butter, and OMG these cookies are freaking good. If you don’t like tahini, you can definitely use natural peanut butter, but the sesame adds such a unique flavor that pairs so well with the dark cocoa. I decided to use regular sugar in these because I was really looking for that traditional, almost-too-sweet no-bake cookie taste. But I’ll warn you, these cookies are addicting (and best eaten fresh!), so I recommend making them when you have somebody to help you eat them. Happy baking!

Vegan Tahini No-Bake Cookies
Makes ~18 cookies (with a 1 Tbsp cookie scoop)

1/4 cup vegan butter
1/4 cup unsweetened almond milk
1 cup sugar
2 Tbsp dutch-process cocoa or special dark cocoa*
1/4 cup tahini
1/2 tsp vanilla extract
1 1/2 cups old fashioned oats (make sure yours are gluten-free if necessary)

1.) Prepare a baking sheet – or an area of counter – with parchment paper or wax paper; set aside. Measure out your tahini and get your vanilla extract and oats ready. Set out a mixing spoon or spatula and a cookie scoop.

2.) In a medium saucepan, whisk together the butter, almond milk, sugar, and cocoa powder over medium-high heat. Bring mixture to a rolling boil – you want the entire pot to be very bubbly – and boil for 60 seconds, whisking constantly.

3). Immediately remove mixture from the heat and stir in the tahini and vanilla extract until totally combined. Stir in your oats. Scoop cookies onto parchment or wax paper and top with sesame seeds. Allow cookies to set (or don’t) and enjoy!

*regular cocoa powder will work just fine, but the chocolate flavor is elevated so much with the dark cocoa that I highly recommend using the dark. I made both versions, so you can at least see the difference for yourself!