It’s getting nice out and strawberries are finally in season. With sweet strawberry goodness and comforting oats, this breakfast/ dessert recipe has the best of both worlds. I remember growing up on a farm and walking over to our strawberry field to pick fresh strawberries my grandma can use to make delicious recipes. For each strawberry I picked for my gramdma, I’d manage to sneak one or two for myself, and no matter how many I ate I’d still devour whatever my grandma would cook up.

Thier is nothing like using what’s in season to make delicious and filling recipes. My grandma always taught me to use what I have and to get creative with it. I can’t tell you how many different variations my grandma would make of cakes and the only substitutions she’d make is what fruit she included in the recipe. This is why I love cooking. It’s just a map of recipes, and you can take so many differnt routes to get to the finished product.

So enjoy making this recipe and enjoy the memories that you make during it. Again use this as a road map, but take whatever turns and twists you’d like to get to your destination.

Prep time: 15 minutes

Cook time: 35-40 minutes

Materials:

• 2 cups chopped strawberries
• 3/4 cup whole wheat flour
• 1 1/4 cup old-fashioned oats
• Pinch of salt
• 1/2 tsp cinnamon
• 1/3 cup brown sugar
• 1/2 tbs vanilla extract
• 7 tbs. unsalted butter melted
• 1 tsp cornstarch
• Juice of 1/2 lemon
• Non-stick cooking spray
• Powdered sugar for top (optional)

Process:

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Line an 8×8 pan with some parchment paper, spray with some non-stick cooking spray and set aside.
2. In a bowl combine the strawberries, lemon juice, and corn starch. Mix well and set aside.
3. In a medium sized mixing bowl combine the flour, oats, brown sugar, cinnamon, and salt. Once these are combined add in the vanilla extract and butter. Mix until the liquid coats all of your dry ingredients.
4. Taking the oatmeal mixture place into your 8×8 pan in a single layer. Top with your chopped strawberries.
5. Bake 35-40 minutes or until edges are golden brown bubbly.
6. Let cool completely and sprinkle on some powdered sugar (optional) and enjoy!