Raspberry Oatmeal Bars

Y’all know what streusel is, right? It’s butter, flour, sugar, and sometimes oats all mushed together to form this delightfully sweet treat. It’s the perfect topping for pies or coffee cakes and it’s downright decadent on dessert pizza.

I love streusel. I want to marry streusel, which is why I’m obsessed with these streusel raspberry oatmeal bars! If you’re looking for a dessert that incredibly soft and crumbly, yet not too overly sweet then this recipe should be first on you list.

The amazing oatmeal layer acts as a topping and a crust, with a nice layer of jam smushed in between for the perfect combo you will die for.

How To Make Raspberry Oatmeal Bars

Man oh man are these oatmeal bars incredibly easy to make. Just a handful of ingredients and a few minutes of prep time, and bam you have a pan full of warm delicious goodness.

You’ll just start by preheating the oven and lining an 8×8 baking dish with foil and lightly greasing it. Next, use a pastry cutter, two knives, or your hands and cut together everything but the jam. Don’t be afraid to get in there and get your hands dirty.

Combine until you have a nice crumbly mixture without too many large chunks of butter. Press some of the mixture into the bottom of the prepared pan, then spoon on the jam and spread evenly over the bottom layer. Lightly press the remaining crust mixture over the top of the jam.

Lastly, bake until lightly browned and cool completely before cutting.

Tips For Amazing Oatmeal Bars Every Time

Choose the best filling: I always use Smucker’s Simply Fruit red raspberry spreadable fruit because it’s HFCS free and it’s basically just mushed up fruit. This is not a paid advertisement, I just like what I like and I like Smucker’s.

Line the pan with foil: If you want a great way to make this recipe even more of a no-fuss process, then don’t forget to line the pan with foil and grease the foil.

This makes it extremely easy to remove the bars from the pan, and almost completely eliminates the need to wash a pan. If you’re like me, then the thought of doing as little dishes as possible is a dream come true.

Get the right oats: Be sure to get rolled oats, not quick or steel cut oats. Rolled oats are best for this recipe because they hold up a lot better and are ideal for baking. The recipe will technically still work with other oat types, the quality just might not be the same.

Can I Make These With A Different Filling?

Of course! These oatmeal bars can be made with just about any fruit filling you want. You can go down the line of jam flavors at the grocery store, or even trying making some of your own. If you have some extra time to whip up your own, I would try this homemade raspberry jam recipe.

I love the raspberry because it gives a fun flavor that’s a refreshing switch from your normal strawberry or blackberry jams. Any flavor will work great and taste delicious though. You could get bold and try apricot, or boysenberry, or you could keep it simple and go for that tired and true strawberry.

Note: Just make sure if you buy store bought that its jam and not preserves. You need a nice even consistency to make this work, and preserves are a bit too chunky for a recipe of this nature.

Can I Freeze Oatmeal Bars?

Another thing to love about bar desserts is that that freeze beautifully. If you plan to freeze a batch to save for later, just wait for the oatmeal bars to cool completely for a few hours, or overnight.

Once the dessert has completely cooled it will be safe to stack them and place in either an airtight container or ziptop bag.  You can then store them in the freezer for up to 4 months.

To enjoy after freezing, just remove the bag or container from the freezer, and place them on the counter until they reach room temperature. Once thawed, feel free to warm them up slightly in the microwave and top with a scoop of ice cream!

The Best Dessert Bar Recipes You Won’t Want To Miss

Dessert bars are arguably one of my favorite dessert categories. I mean what’s not to love about them? Just mix up a simple batter or dough in whatever flavor combination you want, dump it into a pan, back and enjoy!

It’s that simplicity mixed with the wide variety of choices that keeps me always coming back to bar recipes time and time again.

If you’re like me and are always looking for new recipe inspiration, be sure to check out these recipes, that will surely curb your bar dessert cravings.

S’mores Bars

Gooey Mississippi Mud Brookies

Carrot Cake Bars With Cream Cheese Frosting

Pecan Pie Cheesecake Bars

White Chocolate Cranberry Oatmeal Bars

Peanut Butter Cup Bars

 

Raspberry Oatmeal Bars
recipe from allrecipes.com

• 1/2 cup packed brown sugar
• 1 cup all-purpose flour
• 1/4 tsp baking soda
• 1/8 tsp salt
• 1 cup rolled oats
• 1/2 cup butter
• 3/4 cup seedless rapsberry jam (or any other flavor you might like)

Preheat oven to 350. Line an 8×8 baking dish with foil and lightly grease.

Using a pastry cutter, two knives, or your hands, cut together everything but the jam. Don’t be afraid to get in there and get your hands dirty. Combine until you have a nice crumbly mixture without too many large chunks of butter.

Press 2 cups of the mixture into the bottom of the prepared pan. Spoon on the jam (if it is cold, it helps to microwave it to soften it up a bit) and spread to within 1/4 inch of the edge. Lightly press the remaining crust mixture over the top of the jam.

Bake for 35-40 minutes or until lightly browned. Cool completely before cutting.