Buttery brown sugar Oatmeal Bars with a fruity jam filling. This simple recipe comes together in minutes, with the crust and topping made from the same mixture. Use your favorite flavor of jam.

Hi, friends. Let’s cut right to the chase. Buttery brown sugar oatmeal cookie bars sandwiching a thick layer of jam. Are you in? Yep, me too.

There’s so much to love about this simple recipe. It comes together in just a few minutes, it can be enjoyed for breakfast or dessert, it can be served warm, chilled or room temp, and it can be made with any flavor of jam. Choose your favorite flavor of jam or preserves (I’m currently obsessed with Bonne Maman Four Fruits Preserves).

You might also like our Almond Jam Bars or Raspberry Crumb Bars.

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How to Make Oatmeal Bars
Recipe tip
Serving and storage
More dessert bars
Recipe

This is a super simple recipe, with the crust and topping made from the same mixture. Here’s how to do it.

How to Make Oatmeal Bars

Crust/topping mixture: Whisk melted butter, brown sugar and vanilla. Add flour, oats, salt, and baking soda. Stir it up until you have an oatmeal cookie dough.
Press it in the pan: Dump a little more than half of the mixture into a 8×8 pan and flatten it into an even layer. Bake the crust for 10 minutes.
Add the jam and topping: Top the warm crust with jam, spreading it all the way to the corners. Crumble the reserved oatmeal mixture over the jam and return to the oven for about 15 more minutes.

Recipe tip

Line your 8×8 baking pan with foil or parchment paper, leaving a little overhang on two opposite sides. Once the bars are cool you can lift them right out of the pan and cut them easily.

Serving and storage

After baking, allow the bars to cool, and you’ll be able to cut them into clean slices. I often serve these bars at room temperature or chilled so they’re firm enough to be held easily.

If you’d prefer to eat them warm, you can! They will be a bit less stable and need to be eaten with a fork or spoon (see photo below). When serving these warm I like to top them with a scoop of vanilla ice cream. It’s like eating a fruit crisp that is heavy on the topping, with jam instead of fruit. Swoon.

Store leftover tightly covered at room temperature or the refrigerator for 3 days.

What’s not to love about a dessert that can feed a crowd, travel well, and maybe also be served for breakfast (there are oats in there!). I mean, yes, technically this is a dessert, but if you wanted to cut yourself a square to nibble on along with your morning coffee I would pass zero judgment. I only ask that you invite me over to join you.

Try the Nutella, chocolate, or lemon version of these bars: Nutella Stuffed Oatmeal Cookie Bars, Oatmeal Fudge Bars, Lemon Crumb Bars

More dessert bars

Recipe

Jam Filled Oatmeal Bars

Buttery brown sugar oatmeal bars with a fruity jam filling.

4.95 from 116 votes

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Course: Dessert

Cuisine: American

Prep Time: 15

Cook Time: 25

Total Time: 40

Servings: 12

Calories: 242kcal

Author: Allison Mattina

Ingredients

▢ 10 tablespoons (141g) unsalted butter, melted and cooled slightly
▢ ½ cup (110g) light brown sugar, packed (it should be soft and fresh)
▢ 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
▢ 1¼ cups (157g) all purpose flour, see note
▢ 1 cup (90g) old fashioned oats
▢ ¼ teaspoon salt
▢ ½ teaspoon baking soda
▢ generous ¾ cup (250g) jam or preserves

Instructions

Preheat oven to 350°F. Line an 8×8 pan with foil or parchment paper (leaving overhang on two sides for easy removal). Lightly spray with nonstick spray.
In a large bowl, whisk butter, brown sugar and vanilla until well combined (this will take at least one full minute). Sprinkle the flour over the top of the butter mixture, followed by oats, salt, and baking soda. Stir with a rubber spatula or wooden spoon until well combined.
Pull out about ¾ cup (a little less than half) of the cookie dough and place it in the refrigerator (it will be the topping). Dump the remaining dough into the prepared pan and press it down into a flat even layer (it will seem quite buttery). Bake for 10 minutes.
Remove from the oven and carefully spread the jam on top of the cookie base. Take the reserved cookie dough from the fridge and crumble it over the top of the jam layer. Return to the oven and bake for 15-18 more minutes, until the topping is light golden brown. They might still look a little wobbly but they will firm up as they cool. Place the pan on a wire rack to cool completely.
These bars are soft when they are warm or at room temperature. If you refrigerate them they will firm up and be more sturdy.

Notes

Jam: I prefer a jam that has a balance of sweet and tart flavors. Some favorites are tart cherry jam and Bonne Maman Four Fruit Preserves.

Recipe updated July 2023. I added weight measurements and an additional ¼ cup of flour. I found that the bars were a bit more sturdy with the extra flour and I preferred that. If you have made this recipe before and enjoyed it as is, feel free to just use 1-cup of flour.