Creamy Mixed Berry White Chocolate Crumble Bars

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Berry season is right around the corner. Well, almost.

I go crazy for berries when they come into season and sometimes my eyes are bigger than my stomach. I buy a pint of raspberries, a couple pints of blueberries, and there was that buy one-get one sale on strawberries.

Creamy Mixed Berry White Chocolate Crumble Bars

Before I know it I’m up to my eyeballs in fresh berries and need to start finding creative uses for them including baking with them.

But here’s a little secret, I didn’t make this recipe with fresh berries because it’s not berry season, yet I was craving something baked with berries.

Creamy Mixed Berry White Chocolate Crumble Bars

I had a bag of mixed berries burning a hole in my freezer and the coconut flakes and white chocolate chips that I incorporated were burning a hole in my cupboard so I tossed them in, too.

Berry lovers, this one’s for you.

Creamy Mixed Berry White Chocolate Crumble Bars

The base layer of the bars is a combination of whole rolled oats, cake mix, butter, and an egg.

That doughy layer is topped with coconut and white chocolate chips and baked until juicy perfection.

Creamy Mixed Berry White Chocolate Crumble Bars

These bars turned out ridiculously gooey, sticky, and juicy from the natural berry juices.

The sweetened condensed milk made them oh-so-creamy and sweet.

Creamy Mixed Berry White Chocolate Crumble Bars

Berries ‘n sweet cream is always a good combo.

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Creamy Mixed Berry White Chocolate Crumble Bars (with Vegan and Gluten Free Suggestions)

Makes 16 bars

1 2/3 cups vanilla, white, or yellow cake mix (I used 1 cup white, 2/3 cup yellow based on what I had open)

1 cup old fashioned whole rolled oats

1/2 cup butter (1 stick), softened

1 large egg

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

2 cups berries (I used a frozen berry blend of raspberries, blueberries, strawberries and cherries; use what you have, fresh or frozen)

1/3 cup white chocolate chips, optional*

1/3 cup sweetened shredded coconut flakes, optional*

1 can (14-ounces) sweetened condensed milk

Preheat oven to 350F and prepare a 9-by-9 inch pan by lining it with aluminum foil and then spraying it with cooking spray. In a large mixing bowl, combine the cake mix, oats, butter, egg, vanilla and mix either with a mixer, with a spoon, or with your hands, kneading it together. The batter will be thick, tacky, and may be difficult to combine, but keep stirring or use your fingers and knead it together, adding a splash of water if absolutely necessary in order to combine. Press the dough it into the prepared pan. It will be tacky, sticky, and a bit tricky to work with, but keep pressing, spreading, and finessing it.

Sprinkle the berries, then sprinkle the white chocolate chips and coconut, evenly over the top of the dough. Pour the sweetened condensed milk evenly over the top, using a spatula to gently spread and even it if necessary. Bake for 25 to 29 minutes, or until edges of bars begin to barely brown and pull away slightly from the sides of the pan, taking care not to overbake. Note that the middle will not seem very well set and although it will be bubbling, the middle will be jiggly and juicy upon removing from oven and that is okay, you want to keep these gooey. They will continue to set up more after they have cooled but don’t be alarmed if you cannot get perfect squares as these are made to be soft and gooey. Allow bars to cool well before slicing and serving. Optionally, dust with confectioner’s sugar, top with whipped topping or ice cream before serving. Store in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to a week or freeze for up to three months.

To keep vegan, use a vegan cake mix, a flax egg, vegan white chocolate chips, and coconut milk (full-fat), sweetened to taste with agave/maple syrup/sugar, in place of the sweetened condensed milk. To keep gluten-free, use gluten free cake mix. Take care all ingredients used are suitable for your dietary needs.

*If you do not like white chocolate, you can omit entirely or use milk or semi-sweet chocolate chips. Use slivered almonds in place of the coconut flakes if you don’t like coconut.

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I used some white cake mix and some yellow cake mix because I had a couple bags open from other baking projects. Doesn’t everyone have 10 flavors of cake mix on hand and at least 6 boxes open at any given time? Okay, don’t answer that.

Use what you have, like, or have open: vanilla, white, yellow, strawberry would be phenomenal, and I could even see lemon cake mix working in these (maybe half lemon, half white).

Spread of ingredients such as white cake mix, white chocolate chips, berries, and oats

Make the dough with the oats, cake mix, egg, vanilla, and press it into the prepared pan.

Top with berries (fresh or frozen, any combination and variety you like), top with white chocolate chips and coconut flakes (or other toppings such as semi-sweet chocolate chips, slivered almonds, other nuts, toffee bits, or toppings you like)

Pre-baking Creamy Mixed Berry White Chocolate Crumble Bars

Flood!

Pre-baking Creamy Mixed Berry White Chocolate Crumble Bars flooded with ingredients

And then bake them, taking care not to overbake. These will look very gooey and underbaked even after the suggested baking time, but take them out of the oven anyway and let them cool. They will firm up considerably upon cooling, but they are still a very ooey, gooey, messy dessert.

The best kind.

Creamy Mixed Berry White Chocolate Crumble Bars

They rival these Caramel and Chocolate Gooey Bars (GF with Vegan adaptation) in terms of their gooey, messy, sticky, hard to cut and hold their shape because they’re so juicy factor.

Caramel and Chocolate Gooey Bars

Look at the drippy sweetened condensed milk and berry juice. I wish I could bottle that and drink it any time I need a little pick-me-up.

Why bother with dry cardboard-like desserts when you could have gooey? I will never understand that or who buys $5 scones from fancy bakeries that look like blended woodchips with water added and baked. Overpriced hockey pucks. No thanks.

Creamy Mixed Berry White Chocolate Crumble Bars

I think these would be a pretty baby shower, bridal shower, engagement party, brunch, or girly birthday party dessert. Regardless, they’re sweet and very creamy with a variety of textures going on from the berries, oats, cake, coconut, and chocolate chips.

A little bit of everything in every bite. Just the way I like my desserts.

Creamy Mixed Berry White Chocolate Crumble Bars

Another pink, springtime, brunch, bridal shower recipe are these Strawberry Cake Mix Cookies with Vanilla Cream Cheese Frosting. The cookies call for half a box of strawberry cake mix; use the other half to make today’s creamy berry bars.

Strawberry Cake Mix Cookies with Vanilla Cream Cheese Frosting

Other related Berry Recipes:

Strawberry recipes here

Microwave Strawberry Vanilla Mug Cake with Vanilla Buttercream Glaze – No actual cake mix needed, and many people have written to say they’ve made this successfully both vegan and GF. The best use of 90 seconds of time, ever.

Microwave Strawberry Vanilla Mug Cake with Vanilla Buttercream Glaze

Microwave Blueberry Banana Oat Cakes – Vegan, GF, two minutes. Substitute any kind of berry for the blueberries

Microwave Blueberry Banana Oat Cake

Mixed Berry Clafoutis – This recipe does not get as much love as it deserves. It’s as easy as making pancake batter despite the fancy name. Make the batter in a blender or Vita and it literally takes 30 seconds to make, pour over berries, and bake. It’s incredibly decadent, rich, and I describe it as fancy-tasting custard-meets-flan-meets-pudding.

Mixed Berry Clafouti

Wash it all down with…

Strawberries and Cream Smoothie (Vegan, GF)

Strawberries and Cream Smoothie

Coconut Water Champagne Fruit Punch (Vegan, Gluten Free, Soy Free, No Sugar Added, Small Batch)

Coconut Water Champagne Fruit Punch

Do you like berries?

I love them! Raspberries are truly a delicacy. My dad had raspberry bushes when I was growing up and for about 330 days a year we had none.

For about one month of the year, we had more berries than we could eat and my mom would bake with them, make bars, breads, muffins, crumbles, can raspberry jam, make freezer jam, and we’d give away what we couldn’t use. I could use some homegrown raspberries right about now, though.

Blackberries, strawberries, blueberries, cannot go wrong with any of those, either.

What are your favorite berries and how do you like to use them?

Aside from just eating with them as is, I’m always looking for fun new recipes to try.

Thanks for the Kitchen Aid 7-Quart Stand Mixer entries

And the new Tofu Xpress Tofu Press Giveaway entries

About the Author

Welcome to AverieCooks! Here you’ll find fast and easy recipes that taste amazing and are geared for real life. Nothing fussy or complicated, just awesome tasting dishes everyone loves!

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Please note: I have only made the recipe as written, and cannot give advice or predict what will happen if you change something. If you have a question regarding changing, altering, or making substitutions to the recipe, please check out the FAQ page for more info.

Comments

    1. Or if you have a few open, a cup of this one, cup of that one, you can always whip up something fun :)

  1. So decadently beautiful! I’d be interested in playing around and veganizing those…. or at least making them dairy free. yum!

    1. Super easy…just do as I suggested in the recipe or if you come up with a fun twist, LMK! Would love to see them!

  2. That sounds so yummy! I have been loving berries lately, but even sweeter with white chocolate and condensed milk = heavenly. Not to mention the awesome cake!! Skylar and Scott must be berry, berry happy with mama! :D

    1. I love sweetened cond milk..it’s like, the best. The creaminess, the flavor overall, mmmm, soooo good!

  3. I love fresh berries and I love them in smoothies. Although if I have them with dessert I still feel like I need an actual dessert later ;) Gotta have my ooey caramel chocolate something too!

  4. These look so refreshing, Averie! I love berries and the white chocolate looks so good. Love the bright colors too!

  5. Those look beautiful, I love the look the berries give the bars! This evokes thoughts of a girls weekend with glasses of your coconut water champagne fruit punch. Lovely.

  6. Averie, these look too good to be true! The pinks and purples form the berries are beautiful swirling with the white chocolate & coconut. what a delightful summer dessert :)

  7. Feel free to mail me a few batches of these ;) I LOVE berry desserts… especially in the summer!

  8. Your photography is beautiful!

    Found my way over from Fitnessista and wanted to say thanks for the only child love. We’re doing the same thing for the same reasons :)

    1. Thanks for saying hi! When I leave certain comments I always wonder, gosh, does anyone read this stuff? And it looks like yes, they do :)

      Don’t be a stranger!

  9. Berries! Pick your own just opened here. SO exciting. I think I like raspberries best. Its hard to pick though. I’ve been using them in Kay’s baby food lately!

    1. You guys have such fabulous weather down there this time of year…it’s the perfect time actually IMO!

  10. I could have used this recipe this summer – all those raspberries from my garden and the strawberries from berry picking! I always get more than I can use right away too, but I just throw them in the freezer to use the rest of the year. I just finished them off a couple weeks ago and only have one more pint of strawberry jam. Good timing!

    This recipe looks more my speed that the other, you are right!

    1. this is the type of thing my mom would have made growing up with my dad’s garden surplus…not this exact thing b/c nothing was ever the same twice but similar. Perfect for you with your garden, too!

  11. I love berries and am seriously craving berry season! I’m glad you used frozen though…I feel like those are still fantastic options. I just used a bag of frozen strawberries for a baked oatmeal that I made this past weekend. Delicious!

    These bars are amazing, plain and simple. Love the gooeyness and adore the colors! Berries or bust! :)

    1. Sometimes frozen is just fine…I mean who has fresh soybeans/edamame or fresh mango or berries year round? Pretty much no one! So frozen totally works :)

  12. Berries are never out of season in our house…it’s one of the few things that I can’t resist from my ghetto Asian produce market that always sells them cheaply even in the winter from far away lands. They don’t taste as good as in season, local stuff obviously but I’d just be too sad without my beloved blueberries and strawberries if I had to wait 8 months for them!

    1. There are certain things that whether they are “in season” or not in my area I am going to still buy. All purpose flour made from locally grown wheat is a foreign concept to most people, especially those living in a cold-weather climate in the winter but people still buy flour. I sort of look at berries the same way…that’s what the grocer’s freezer case is for :)