Hearty Oatmeal Jam Squares

I have been making these super easy, delicious Oatmeal Jam Squares forever! This recipe was from an old, dog-eared Quaker Oats Wholegrain Cookbook.

They only take a few moments to prep, make minimal mess because you mix it all in one bowl with mostly (I would guess) stuff you already have in your pantry and fridge, 25 minutes to bake and done. Delish! Here’s the how-to:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. I have an electric oven, so I always set it 25 degrees less as I feel it cooks faster and hotter than gas, so mine was set at 325. Grease 13 x 9 pan and set aside. This pic looks a little weird, because I used cooking spray and it squirts out rather than lightly sprays. Whatever works…

Ingredients:

1 3/4 cups all-purpose flour

2 cups quick oats

1 cup brown sugar, firmly packed (you can use either light or dark brown, but I feel the dark brown gives the bars a richer flavor)

2 sticks (one cup) butter or margarine, softened, not melted

1/4 tsp salt

1 tsp ground cinnamon

1/2 tsp baking soda

1/2 cup chopped walnuts (Optional)

1 1/2 – 2 cups jam or jelly or preserves, any flavor Note: The original recipe called for 3/4 cup. You can use as much or as little as you like. The more jam, the gooier the bar : )

Measure out all dry ingredients, set aside.

Place softened butter in large mixing bowl (I used one margarine, one butter. Not sure why, I just do that)

and mix just until sticks are broken apart, not creamed. I used dough hooks in my mixer, you can use those, or mix by hand with wooden spoon.

Dump in all the dry ingredients on top of the butter in the large mixing bowl.

Mix with dough hooks, or by hand with a wooden spoon, until mixture is crumbly and well-blended.

Remove and reserve 2 cups of mixture, set aside.

Place remaining mixture into prepared pan and pat down until firm crust is formed.

Do not compress too much, but make sure there aren’t any errant chunks scattered around.

Spoon jam onto crust

and smooth out to the corners, completely covering the crust.

As you see here, I am using two types of jam,

but you can use whatever you happen to have available. I have used everything from orange marmalade to grape jelly, and it all tastes great! Sprinkle remaining topping over the jam, evenly spreading to corners. Bake for 25-30 minutes until jam is bubbling around the edges, the crust is light brown and set.

Remove from oven before crust over-browns! Over-browning is bad. Makes the bars crunchy instead of gooey. And I like gooey. If you like crunchy, then leave them in a bit longer. Cool completely. Cut into squares and serve.

These are delicious (and nutritious) enough for breakfast and snacks but sweet enough for dessert. Have a yummy Wednesday everyone! Susan