Blood Orange Bars

Our 5-year-old Alex (aka Alexander, aka Jacob, aka Sooshi) is obsessed with names. 
Everyday, ten times a day, he asks my husband and I if we like a certain name. Most days I find his name sake obsession cute but some days when I’m busy or has no patience it drives me nuts. I somehow forget that all I need to answer is “yes” or “no”.
“Eema, do you like the name Freddy?”
“Freddy, F-r-e-dddy, not really.”
“Aba, do you like the name Moses?”
“Moses is a good name”
“Eema, do you like the name Paul?”
Sometimes when I’m busy or I’m not really sure, I repeat the name over once or twice, which makes the process more aggravating because, I end up getting a speech therapy session.
“Eema, not ‘Poll’,  ‘Paul!'” 
“I did say Poll!”
“No, you didn’t, you said Poll! You’re supposed to say Paul!”
“Whatever, I like the name Poll.” 
One day when I picked him up from school he told me that he doesn’t want to be called Alex anymore, not even Alexander, he wants to have a new name. Later that day he asked me if I liked the name Franklin. Without giving it a serious thought, I answered “yes”. So now he wants to be called Franklin. 
Yesterday, when I told him that I put Chia seeds in the bars he asked me “Do you like the name Chia?” I said “Yes, I love it!” hoping he would change his name from Franklin to Chia.
Today, when I called the blood oranges blood oranges, he said “no! they are called fire oranges”. You right my love, it’s a such better name for them. 
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showing off my first pedi for the season.
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Fire oranges looking like raw meat!
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Bloody messy oranges!

Blood Orange Bars

Lightly sweet, citrusy and pretty nutritious orange bars.
Prep Time10 minutes
Cook Time40 minutes
Total Time50 minutes
Course: Dessert, Snack
Cuisine: American, Healthy
Keyword: Dairy-Free
Servings: 16 bars
Author: Shelly
Cost: 4

Ingredients

  • ½ cup extra virgin olive oil
  • ¾ cup cane sugar
  • 2 large organic eggs
  • Juice from half blood orange - or plain
  • 1 cup blood orange - peeled & diced (look at picture)
  • ¾ cup coarsely ground almonds & hazelnuts - or just one of them
  • ¾ cup fine whole-wheat flour - or all-purpose flour
  • 1 teaspoons baking powder
  • 1 tablespoon Chia Seeds - optional
  • 2 small blood oranges - sliced thinly
  • Sugar

Instructions

  • Preheat the oven to 350°F. Oil a 11 x 11-inch cake pan (or any medium square or rectangle baking dish).
  • In a large bowl mix together the oil and sugar. Beat the eggs into the bowl.
  • Squeeze the orange into the bowl and add the diced orange, continue to beat for a few seconds.
  • Add the ground almonds and hazelnuts, flour, baking powder, and chia seeds and mix with a wooden spoon until the batter is well combined and smooth.
  • Pour the batter into the pan, then gently place the orange slices over in a row with even gaps. Sprinkle some sugar and put into the oven for about 34 – 40 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center of the cake comes out clean. Let the cake cool completely on rack, then slice it into squares. Store the bars in a container for up to 3 days.

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  1. Hey Shelly,
    I made this recipe and it turned out to be really very good. Everyone in my family especially my son loved it. Thank you and looking forward for many more recipes.

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