Strawberry Oatmeal Bars

My mom wanted to make a recipe she had seen on TV, and it just so happened to be from The Pioneer Woman.  My immediate response: let's do it!  This was such an incredibly easy recipe and had amazing results.  Not to mention the whole house smelled like strawberry oatmeal...mmmm.  You could eat these warm with ice cream, cold as more of a granola bar, or just straight out of the pan (whoops!).  Also, you could substitute strawberry preserves for any type you prefer.

Strawberry Oatmeal Bars
(recipe courtesy The Pioneer Woman)

1 and 3/4 stick cold butter, cut into pieces
1 and 1/2 cups all purpose flour
1 and 1/2 cups oats (quick or old-fashioned)
1 cup packed brown sugar
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 jar (10-12 ounce) strawberry preserves

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Butter a 9 x 13 or 8 x 10 baking dish.

Mix together the flour, oats, brown sugar, baking powder, and salt. Cut in the butter with a pastry cutter until it resembles coarse crumbs. Sprinkle half the mixture into the pan and pat lightly to pack it a little tight. Spoon strawberry preserves evenly over the surface, then use a dinner knife to carefully spread it around. Sprinkle the other half of the oat mixture over the top and pat lightly again.

Bake until light golden brown on top, about 30 to 40 minutes. Remove from the oven and let cool in pan.  Cut into squares.

(quick iPhone snapshots)

(image source: X)