Delicious, Nutritious Fruit Bars (and more sleep!)

A week or so before Joseph was born I discovered magic of granola bars in the morning. So desperate was I for extra sleep that I started keeping our bedroom door closed at night and instead of making the girls stay in their room until 7 a.m. with this clock , I said "to h-e-double-toothpicks with it" and let them exit their sleep space whenever they wanted as long as they left me alone. I put the granola bars within their reach to push off the begging-for-breakfast moment as long as possible and it worked! But our grocery bill soon started to suffer because good granola bars get pricy and the girls started to not finish them because they got a little tired of them, I didn't really blame them.

Enter baking something that they can grab easily in the morning sans motherly assistance and enter these:

I've made several different types of muffins for them and while the baked goods change, the purpose remains: MORE SLEEP! So far, this is my favorite baked good for the morning time and I personally have to not look at them or else I will eat all of them at once.

I adapted this recipe a bit, making my own fruit concoction instead of using preserves. Here it is for you:

-For the crust and top crumble:
1 1/2 cups whole wheat flour
1 1/2 cups old-fashioned oats
1/2 cup packed brown sugar
1/2 teaspoon salt
3/4 cup cold, unsalted butter, chopped into 1/2-inch cubes
2 tablespoons cold water

-For the fruit filling:
2 cups of fruit of your choosing, I used blueberries and was very pleased
1/4 (or less) cup sugar
splash of water

Worst ingredient pictoral ever, in case you need it:

• Preheat oven to 350
• Combine the crust ingredients in food processor and pulse until a course dough forms. 
• Grease an 8x11 pan. 
• Pour 2 cups fruit into saucepan over medium-high heat on stove top, mix water and sugar with fruit and bring to a low boil until fruit is soft. 
• Divide dough in half, put one half off to the side in a bowl and press the other half into greased pan. 
• Pour your fruit mixture into food processor and pulse until there are no more fruit chunks. 
• Pour fruit mixture over crust then crumble the rest over top. 
• Bake @ 350 for 30-35 minutes, until golden brown on top. 

Side note: we are not a "whole 30" or gluten free or exclusively organic-eating family, however, if you are one of those families, I feel sure you could do this with some almond flour and coconut sugar and still get a great result. If you try it that way, let me know how it goes!

Let them cool completely before eating and store in refrigerator, on a shelf your kids can reach in the morning.

Enjoy!