Read Best Lunch Box Ever Online
Authors: Katie Sullivan Morford
Best Lunch Box Ever (27 page)
Oatmeal Bars
THE SWEET-TART TASTE OF SOUR CHERRY JAM
over a crumbly, brown sugarâsweetened dough is pretty scrumptious. The recipe is a twist on a fruit crisp I've been making for years, only in this version the crust shows up on both top and bottom, and jam subs in for fresh fruit. I cut the bars into petite squares that are just big enough for a lunch-box treat (or an after-school snack along with a glass of cold milk). If you can't get your hands on a jar of sour cherry jam, feel free to substitute apricot or raspberry instead.
MAKES 20 BARS
1 cup whole-wheat pastry flour
1
/
2
cup rolled oats (not quick oats)
1
/
2
cup firmly packed brown sugar
1
/
2
teaspoon baking powder
1
/
4
teaspoon salt
6 tablespoons unsalted butter, at room temperature
1
/
2
cup finely chopped walnuts
3
/
4
cup sour cherry jam
Preheat the oven to 350°F. Line an 8-inch square baking pan with parchment paper so that it drapes a couple of inches over two sides.
In a large bowl, add the flour, oats, brown sugar, baking powder, and salt and stir with a fork. Add the butter and, using an electric mixer on low speed, mix until the ingredients form a uniformly crumbly mixture, about 45 seconds. Add the walnuts and continue mixing on low speed until they are evenly distributed, about 5 seconds.
With your hands, press two-thirds of the dough firmly and evenly into the bottom of the prepared baking pan. (If the dough sticks to your hands, cover it with a piece of parchment paper as you work.)
With a spoon, spread the jam evenly over the dough. Sprinkle the remaining one-third of the dough evenly over the jam. You will see the jam peeking through.
Bake until the top is deep brown and the jam along the edges begins to darken, 45 to 50 minutes.
Let cool in the baking pan for 30 minutes.
Run a knife along the two sides of the pan that don't have an overhang of parchment paper. Grab the two ends of parchment paper and carefully lift out the sour cherry oatmeal square and transfer to a cutting board.
Cut into 20 bars. Store in an airtight container for up to 5 days in the pantry or 2 weeks in the freezer.
Pretzel Cookies
WHEN IT COMES TO BAKING,
chocolate chip cookies are the number-one pick, by far, among all three of my kids. They like this recipe because it's got enough chocolate to feel like a treat, plus they get to dump pretzels into the mix. I like it because it's made with two different whole grains and is more moderate in the butter and sugar department than a lot of cookies. You can leave the nuts out entirely if your crew doesn't like them, or sub in raisins or dried cranberries.
MAKES ABOUT 36 COOKIES; 1 OR 2 COOKIES PER SERVING
3
/
4
cup whole-wheat pastry flour
3
/
4
cup rolled oats (not quick oats)
1
/
2
teaspoon baking soda
6 tablespoons unsalted butter, at room temperature
1
/
4
cup granulated sugar
1
/
2
cup firmly packed brown sugar
1
/
2
teaspoon vanilla extract
1 egg
2
/
3
cup bittersweet or semisweet chocolate chips
1
/
2
cup salted roasted shelled pistachios
1
1
/
2
cups salted mini pretzels (preferably whole-grain pretzels)
Preheat the oven to 350°F. Line three baking sheets with parchment paper.
In a medium bowl, add the flour, oats, and baking soda and stir with a fork.