Strawberry Oatmeal Bars

These oat bars may not look like much, but they are really delicious. You only need a few basic ingredients and your favorite jam and you can have scrumptious jam bars in no time.

These pack and travel really well, so besides being yummy to snack on anytime a craving hits, they're also great for packing in lunches. My little girl has been enjoying these in her lunch all week (and I enjoy them with coffee in the morning).

I like to cut them into bars or smaller sizes when taking them to parties or packing them in lunches.

If you have a few basic baking ingredients on hand, you can whip up these tasty bars in a matter of minutes.


Strawberry Oatmeal BarsIngredients
1 3/4 sticks salted butter, cut into pieces, plus more for greasing pan
1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 1/2 cup oats

1 teaspoon vanilla
1 cup packed brown sugar
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
One 10 to 12-ounce jar strawberry preserves
Directions
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Butter a 9-by-13-inch rectangular pan.

Mix together the butter, flour, oats, vanilla, brown sugar, baking powder and salt. Press half the oat mixture into the prepared pan. Spread with the strawberry preserves. Sprinkle the other half of the oat mixture over the top and pat lightly. Bake until light brown, 30 to 40 minutes. Let cool completely, and then cut into squares.
* I used a food processor to make the crust and topping. You could also use a pastry cutter or two knives to cut the butter into the dry ingredients.

Inspired By: The Pioneer Woman