Cookies. Cookies. Cookies. We all have our favorite version of this hold-in-your hand bit of goodness. Some like them more than others. I come from a family of homemade cooky afficionados.
Not only do I like to eat them; I like to bake them. There is something that is “all right with the world” when I’m able to turn out perfectly shaped cookies. And there’s nothing like seeing those freshly made cookies rapidly disappear. A clear sign of success! Whenever things get hectic or overwhelming, I find baking cookies a delicious form of therapy.
I usually roll my “drop” cookies into balls. I like the way the rounded cookies look when I remove them from the oven…neat little circles of perfection.
When my aunt moved from Missouri to Minnesota, she was ushered into a whole different cooky culture. Apparently, Minnesotans are particularly fond of bar cookies. Bar cookies are not formed and baked individually. The cooky dough is spread in a pan, baked and then cut into squares or bar shapes. I hope my aunt was able to revamp some of her favorite cooky recipes to accommodate the baking style, but she also quickly collected new recipes.
Making bar cookies saves times. You don’t have to form each cooky individually before you bake it. For this reason, I like to make bar cookies when I need to fill platters with a large quantity and variety of cookies, especially for events or sharing with others.
It was on one of these occasions that I found this recipe for Oatmeal Jam Bars. The top and bottom of the cooky has a buttery oatmeal crust. The center of the cooky is jam from a jar, which makes this recipe even easier. Perfect for busy summer days.
Raspberry jam is our filling of choice. But use whatever jam you like, and I’m sure you’ll find these delicious.
Oatmeal Jam Bars
Ingredients
- 2 cups flour
- 2 cups rolled oats
- 3/4 cups sugar
- 1/2 cup brown sugar
- 3/4 tsp salt
- 1 1/4 cups cold butter cut into small pieces
- 1 egg yolk
- 2 tsp vanilla
- 1 3/4 cup jam raspberry is our jam of choice
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350°F. Line a 9x13 pan with parchment paper. Set aside.
- In a large bowl, stir flour, oats, sugar, brown sugar and salt together. Cut in cold butter. Add egg yolk and vanilla. Stir together.
- Reserve 2 3/4 cups in freezer. Pour remaining amount into prepared pan. Press firmly to create bottom crust. Pour jam over crust and spread evenly.
- Press together small portions of reserved crust to form small clumps. Spread evenly over jam layer. Bake for 45min or until bubbly and golden brown. Cool completely then cut into bars.
- Watch video: https://youtu.be/wKJwkHoSUxs
