Strawberry Oatmeal Bars

Strawberry Oatmeal Bars are the perfect bar to use up any leftover jam you have lying around in your pantry. The bottom layer is a buttery oatmeal crust and so is the top layer and in between those two layers is a center full of jam. Have you ever had a dessert that calls for a streusel topping before? Well, this recipe kind of reminds me of that. These strawberry oatmeal bars are so yummy and delicious you could eat them for dessert or even for breakfast. If you eat them for breakfast, don’t worry, because I won’t tell anyone.

This is another Pioneer Woman recipe and in her video she stated that she uses quick-cooking oats but I swear she uses Old Fashion. Oh well, we all make mistakes. Old Fashioned oats work best for these bars.

How to make Strawberry Oatmeal Bars

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.

 Butter a 9-by-13-inch rectangular pan. Mix together the butter, flour, oats, 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 24 equal squares. Serving size: 1 bar.  

Other Flavorful Fillings

Strawberry jam isn't the only jam that can be used for these bars. Try these other great options and flavors.

• Apricot
• Raspberry
• Blackberry
• Grape Jam
• Blueberry
• Fig Jam - would be like a fig newton 🙂
• Lemon Curd or Pie Fillings (in cans)

Different Types of Oats

source from allrecipes.com)

If you are wondering what type of oats are best for these bars Ree's recipe just calls for oats.  That to me doesn't tell me which type of oats to get that would work best for these bars.  There are two main types of oats: rolled and steal cut. Both types begin as whole oats (groats), from which the outer layer (the hull) is stripped, leaving the fiber-rich bran, the endosperm, and the germ, which is home to vitamins and minerals, antioxidants, and healthy oils. From there, the oats are either rolled or steel-cut. Either way, though, their impressive nutritional impact is essentially the same.

1. Old-Fashioned Oats: The whole grains are steamed, flattened by the roller, and then flaked. Enjoy them as oatmeal, or add them to baked goods. Of the three types of rolled oats, old-fashioned oats have the most texture.

2. Quick-Cooking Oats: The oats are cooked, dried, and cut, then rolled thin (thinner than old-fashioned oats) for faster cooking.

3. Instant Oats: The oats are cooked and dried before being cut and rolled thin. Instant being quicker than quick, instant oats are the fastest oats of all, though they can sometimes be gummy or mushy. Read the label of instant oats; they can be less healthy than other types of rolled oats if sugars, salt, and other ingredients are added to the mix.

4. Steel-Cut Oats : Sometimes called Irish oats or Scottish oats, steel-cut oats aren't rolled. Instead, steel blades slice them into coarse nubs, giving them an appearance like cut-up grains of rice.

Recipe from the Ree Drummond

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