hello lovelies,
People of the world, tell me – when you think of low calorie foods, what do you think of? Personally, I always thought of low calorie foods tasting bland and having the texture of chewing card board. Maybe it’s because the low calorie foods I’ve brought from the supermarkets have always lacked flavour and tasted just like that. I’ll be honest, I’ve never once tried a nice low calorie food from the supermarket.
Well, since I’ve started making my own low calorie recipes, I’ve learnt that low calorie foods can be jam packed with flavour and still be low calories – amazing right? Todays bake is no exception to that.
You’ll be pleased to know, the texture of these oat bars isn’t like chewing cardboard and the flavour for sure doesn’t lack – it’s completely changed the game for me. I’ve made a fair few low calorie foods here on my blog and I must admit, todays bake is up there with being one of my favourites… ever!
Considering it was my first time ever making jam, I was so surprised how easy it was to make and how flavourful it was with barely any ingredients. The jam really did make these bars for me – the base is yummy but combined with this jam… top tier. Need I say more.
Category: Sweet Treat
Serves: 12
Prep Time: 30 Minutes
Cook Time: 30-40 Minutes
Overall Time: 60 Minutes
Ingredients You Need For Cherry Jam:
- 280g Of Frozen Cherries
- 30ml Of Maple Syrup
Ingredients You Need For Crust:
- 80g Of Oats
- 128g Of Almond Flour
- 80ml Of Unsweetened Apple Sauce
- 100g Of Maple Syrup
How To Make Cherry Jam:
- Firstly gather together your equipment and ingredients, line a baking tray with parchment paper and preheat the oven to 180C / 160C Fan / Gas Mark 4.
- Secondly, in a medium sized pan over a medium heat, add the 280g of frozen cherries and 80ml of maple syrup.
- Now, heat the cherries until they begin to release liquids which usually takes between 5-15 minutes (TIP: this time will vary depending on how frozen your cherries are).
- Bring the mixture to the boil whilst stirring occasionally until the cherries begin to reduce and thicken.
- (TIP: using a spoon to squish the cherries further if you desire).
- Remove the pan from the heat and allow the cherry jam to cool.
- (TIP: the longer the jam sits, the thicker it will become).
How To Make Oat Bars:
- Now that your jam is made and cooling, it’s time to make your oat bars.
- Firstly, place both your 80g of oats and 128g of almond flour into a blender or food processor and process on high for a few seconds until the oats have broken down into a flour like consistency.
- Secondly, add the rest of the crust ingredients and continue processing until it forms into a sticky mixture.
- Next, place 2/3 of the mixture into your lined baking tin, using a spatula spread and press the mixture until even.
- Once your crust is in the baking tin, spread a even layer of the cherry jam across the top (TIP: make sure you leave a space between the jam and the edge of the crust so the jam doesn’t spill over the edges).
- Now on top of the jam, blob the remaining crust mixture and then using a spatula, spread them out the best you can.
- Place the oat bars into the oven for around 30-40 minutes, you’ll know its done when the centre has hardened/set and the crust is golden brown.
- When the oat bars have baked, take out the oven and leave in the tin too cool for a while before taking out and transferring to a wire rack to cool further.
That’s your Cherry Almond Oat Bars prepared, baked and ready for you to demolish.
Honestly, I’m proper chuffed with how these turned out. They taste blooming yummy if I do say so myself.
Let me know in the comments below if you make these yourself and if you do, what your thoughts are on them? Have you found your new favourite low calorie treat?
Sending you tons of love and hugs as always,
Elle xo
I can already taste the sweet maple flavor in these almond cherry bars. No lie, i an eat the entire 9 bars in one sitting. 😋 Another great one Elle.
Author
Ooo my kinda person! You’ve got serious willpower if you only eat one of these bars;) the maple syrup just works beautifully with the cherries! Thank you so much for commenting Xo
These sound yummy and would definitely be something I’d like to try eating. How low calorie are they when they have cherries and syrup as ingredients? I would have though those two ingredients would contain a lot of sugar
Author
They really are delicious! They are around 70cals per slice. Thank you so much for commenting Xo
These look so yummy and they’re all flavours that I love!!
If only you could box some up and send them to my desk
Rosie
Author
They are the best flavour combos aren’t they? I so wish I could!! Thank you so much for commenting Xo
Ooo these look yummy, I bet they’re similar to a Cherry Bakewell considering they have almond in.
Author
They are very similar to cherry Bakewell that why I love these so much. I love a good Bakewell tart! They have a very similar taste. Thank you so much for commenting Xo
Oh yummy….. this looks like my kinda sweet treat. Thank you for sharing.
Author
They really are delicious! The combo of ingredients are just amazing. Thank you so much for commenting Xo
These look delish! I am a big fan of anything cherry flavored and for them to be low calorie is an automatic win for me! Thank you for sharing!
Author
You can’t beat cherries, can you? Honestly you wouldn’t even notice that these are lower in calories, they are just delicious. Thank you so much for commenting Xo
These look seriously SO good 😍 and pop them in the micro for a few seconds with some vanilla ice cream? YUM
Author
Oh my days YES! That sounds absolutely delicious. I must try that!! Thank you so much for commenting Xo
This looks so delicious Elle! I can taste the cherry and maple just by looking at it! Thanks for sharing.
Author
The cherry & maple work so beautifully together to make the most delicious taste, I’m a lil obsessed haha. Thank you so much for commenting Xo
This looks beyond delicious. How tasty. Tweeted.
Ryan
Author
They really are delicious! Thank you so much for commenting Xo
These sound so yummy!! I’ve got to try!
Author
These are a must try! They are so yummy. Thank you so much for commenting Xo
Ooh this is exciting! I love cherries and I have gluten free oats so I can make a gluten free version of this. Thanks for sharing!
Author
Oooo yes! These are easily made GF, I’d love to know your thoughts. I’m obsessed! Thank you so much for commenting Xo
These look amazing and you can tell they definitely don’t lack flavour! Sweet treats are usually my downfall when I’m trying to eat healthier so these would be ideal! x
Author
They really are packed full of flavour. The combination of ingredients are just perfection! These really are an amazing low calorie sweet treat. you wouldn’t notice they are lower in calories either which I always think is a bonus! Thank you so much for commenting Xo
These sounds so exciting! As usual there’s always a great recipe coming from you Elle! I love the almond and cherry combo and you can never turn down an oat bar right? x
Author
Ah thank you so much lovely! These really are delicious. They are like eating a cherry bakewell just lower in calories! You can’t turn down a good oat bar, they are just super yummy. Thank you so much for commenting Xo
These look so good! I’ve been baking with oats a lot lately for some reason, but have been loving it so this is a great recipe to add to my list! 🙂
Author
They are an amazing ingredient to work with aren’t they? They pair beautifully with so many different recipes. You’ll have to let me know what you think. Thank you so much for commenting Xo
I can’t wait to give this recipe a try! I’m sure I along with the rest of my family will find them delicious!
Author
They really are a delicious family treat! My family demolished them haha. Thank you so much for commenting Xo
Looks so yummy and low-calorie too 😋😋😋
Author
You can’t beat a recipe which is low calorie and delicious, can you? Thank you so much for commenting Xo
This looks unreal!!
Author
These really are delicious. Thank you so much for commenting Xo
This looks incredible and I love cherries! I love how this has such a simple ingredient list – definitely adding this to my to try list!
Author
It’s such a quick and easy recipe to make and the ingredients really do taste delicious together! Thank you so much for commenting Xo
These look delicious! Low calorie foods aren’t always yummy, but I’m glad to hear that these are! Thanks for sharing! 🙂
Author
Honestly, I’ve found some low calorie foods to taste like cardboard so I made sure when I’m sharing low calorie treats, that they are packed full of flavour! Thank you so much for commenting Xo
That’s awesome you made your own jam!
These cherry bars look delicious & I love that it doesn’t need a lot of ingredients!
Author
It’s SO unbelievably easy to make, honestly I was shocked! It’s a small yet mighty ingredient list, they just work beautifully together. Thank you so much for commenting Xo