These raspberry walnut squares are incredibly quick & easy to make and with their crumbly, nutty, oaty layers & tangy, lip smacking raspberry jam, they are hard to resist!
There is a little cafe nearby that we often frequent as they serve great coffee and baked goods, including a few vegan options. My husband's absolute favourite are the raspberry & walnut slices. He loves them.
Trouble is, his visits were starting to get more and more frequent. It was like some kind of crazy addiction. I needed to stop his illicit sneaking around cafes with raspberry & walnut slices and stat.
So I made my own veganized version.
I don't know whether that was a good idea or not because now he's just sneaking around the kitchen trying to steal them before anyone else gets their hands on them and we all end up squabbling over who's had one more than the other or who ate the last one!
My Raspberry Walnut Squares are dairy and egg free which is great as now I can eat them. I am not sure my husband would agree that that's such a good thing as now he has to share.
I had eaten the ones from the cafe in my pre-vegan days so knew exactly what flavours and textures I should be aiming for in my own version. It took three or four attempts but I think they are pretty spot on now and my resident expert agrees.
These Raspberry Walnut Squares are so quick and easy to throw together. The base is just a compacted version of the crumble topping so only one bowl is required. The filling is simply raspberry jam. If you are feeling virtuous you could make them a lot healthier by using raspberry chia jam. You can check out a great recipe for it here. Just remember that if you do use chia jam the finished squares won't be as sweet as they are with regular jam.
If you love oaty, nutty, crumbly and sticky sweet treats then these Raspberry Walnut Squares are your jam!
Now go get jammin' and share your pictures on Instagram or Twitter. Use the hashtag #avirtualvegan so I don't miss them.
Raspberry Walnut Squares
Ingredients
- 180g | 2 cups rolled oats
- 115g | 1 cup spelt flour (you may sub wholewheat flour but spelt gives marginally better results)
- 2 tablespoons ground flax seed (you may sub ground chia seeds )
- 46g | 1/2 cup shredded coconut
- 90g | 3/4 cup walnut pieces
- 100g | 1/2 cup sugar (coconut sugar gives the best results but you can sub any other granulated sugar)
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- 9 tablespoons water
- 120mls | 1/2 cup coconut oil in liquid form (see recipe note)
- 325g | 1 cup good quality raspberry jam or raspberry chia jam
INSTRUCTIONS
- Preheat oven to 350°F
- Line an 8x8 pan with baking parchment leaving enough paper around the edges to use as lifting handles.
- Add all the dry ingredients to a large bowl
- Stir in the liquid coconut oil until well combined.
- Add the water and stir well. You will have a moist crumbly mixture. You can add one more tablespoon of water if it seems too dry.
- Pour about ⅔ of the mixture into your tin and press down really, really well until it is compacted and level. You can use a spatula or your hands.
- Spread the raspberry jam over the base evenly.
- Now use your hands and sprinkle the remaining oaty mixture loosely over the top. Little gaps over the jam are fine.
- Bake for 30 - 35 minutes or until just starting to go golden brown around the edges.
- Remove from the oven and cool completely in the pan.
- Remove from the pan using the excess paper to lift it out.
- Cut into 9 squares. Don't attempt to cut them up until they are completely cool as they will fall apart.
NOTES
NUTRITION
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Adele says
Fabulous, I have to make these twice a week for my husband to take to work.
Anita says
One square is 490 calories!! Yikes!
A Virtual Vegan says
It is a dessert that's full of nuts, coconut and jam! :)
Emm says
I made these using a good quality blackcurrant compote instead of raspberry jam. They were delicious. Thank you for the recipe,
A Virtual Vegan says
You're welcome. I bet they were lovely with the blackcurrant compote! ????
suki says
OMG I made these and they are the BEST thing I ever baked Vegan!!! WOW - this recipe is a keeper! Kudos!
A Virtual Vegan says
Oh wow. Thank you so much! I am thrilled that you like them so much. Now you have the difficult task of not eating the whole batch! My husband is very jealous of you as they are his favourite and I haven't made them for ages because I'm always working on something new. I've had to promise I will make him some on Saturday. Thank you so much for stopping by to let me know. I really appreciate it :O)
athleticavocado says
These bars look so good! Perfect for breakfast with a chai tea latte :)
A Virtual Vegan says
Oh yeah! I like that idea! Thanks so much :0)
Delaney says
Tasty Treat!!! We gobbled half of them up before they finished cooling off!!!
A Virtual Vegan says
Ha ha! We were the same! You need to watch that hot jam though! We had a few burnt tongues.....
robin m says
Can't wait to make these. I have lots of baked yummies to finish up first, after a double adult Birthday party here this past weekend.
I was also thinking you could spread some peanut butter over the jelly layer to have a pb&j effect going on :)
A Virtual Vegan says
Sounds like you had fun at the weekend! I hope you enjoy them when you get around to making them and the peanut butter idea is an awesome one. Now you've made me want to make them again so I can try it!
Dineke says
Created them this weekend, but with strawberry-rhubard jam and grated almonds (didn't have any walnuts in my cupboard) and they are sooooo amazing!! It's very difficult to keep myself from wandering into the kitchen every ten minutes to try one more little bite...hihihihihi, will be making a lot more of these!!
A Virtual Vegan says
I am so glad to hear you are enjoying them so much Dineke. They sound great with strawberry-rhubarb jam. We had the same problem of struggling to keep ourselves from eating them all right away. At least they are easy to make though so if you do eat them all it won't take long to whip up more! Thanks so much for taking the time to leave feedback. It means a lot! :O)
Gwen @ Delightful Adventures says
These look delicious, I LOVE raspberries and walnuts. Together, I'm sure they will be amazing. Just pinned so I can save for later!
A Virtual Vegan says
Thanks Gwen!
xoxobellablog says
Yum! I love raspberry in anything. These look so good!
A Virtual Vegan says
Thank you!
Sean says
Those look really, really tasty. I'm such a sucker for raspberry. You mentioned in one of the other comments that the walnut flavour was mild -- I wonder if pecans would be good? In either case, I wish I had a big plate of these right now.
A Virtual Vegan says
Pecans would be great in them!
Jenn S. says
These look amazing!!
A Virtual Vegan says
Thanks Jenn :0)
sukih says
I have lots of oats in my pantry always ;) i always like oats idea
A Virtual Vegan says
They are such a great ingredient and so versatile.
PhruitfulDish says
These sound like a deliciously healthy treat! Raspberries are so beautiful in recipes :)
A Virtual Vegan says
Thank you!
Shauna Oberg says
These look scrumptious and I love that they're packed full of wholesome ingredients. See, it's about making modifications to our favourite classic recipes.
A Virtual Vegan says
Thank you and I totally agree!
Samantha @mykitchenlove says
These look like sticky goodness Melanie!! Your photos are beautiful!!
A Virtual Vegan says
Thank you Samantha ;0)
A Virtual Vegan says
Thank you! The walnut flavour doesn't come through in them too much. They add more texture than anything. And as for a cafe....It is something I have actually considered. Maybe one day....
bakeforgranted says
Wow - these look fantastic - love bars with oats!! Trying these ones!
A Virtual Vegan says
Thank you so much! Let me know what you think!