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.
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
Related recipes
WHITE CHOCOLATE RASPBERRY CHEESECAKE BARS
Recipe
Jam Filled Oatmeal Bars
Ingredients
- 1¼ cups (157g) all purpose flour, see note
- 1 cup (90g) old fashioned oats
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- ½ teaspoon baking soda
- 10 tablespoons (141g) unsalted butter, melted
- ½ cup (110g) light brown sugar, packed (it should be soft and fresh)
- 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
- 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 medium bowl, combine, flour, oats, salt, and baking soda.
- In a large bowl, whisk butter, brown sugar and vanilla until well combined (this will take at least one full minute). Add dry ingredients and 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
Nutrition
Nutritional Information is an estimate based on third-party calculations and may vary based on products used and serving sizes.
Tried this recipe?Leave a comment and rating below!
maureen
can almond flour be used instead of wheat flour?
Allison
No, you need then structure from the all purpose flour. If you’re trying to make them gluten free you can try a 1:1 gluten free baking blend.
Holly Kidson
Has anyone tried freezing these and thawing them a few at a time? Really want to try this recipe but there are just two of us.
Julie
We loved the version I made with homemade peach jam. Thank you for sharing!
Allison
You’re welcome! I’m glad you enjoyed it.
Brigitte
So easy and a delicious way to use up some homemade jams!
Allison
I’m glad you enjoyed the recipe. 🙂
Paulette
I used homemade Lemon Blueberry jam and melted the butter in the baking pan so it would become brown butter. I like the taste of brown butter. I think it gives a richer buttery flavor. The warm bars were divine.
Allison
That sounds delicious! Thanks for stopping by. 🙂
Tina
I reduced the butter to 8 tbsp and the sugar to two tablespoons because my first batch (following the recipe) was too sweet. Kind of took away from the sweetness of the filling too much.
I also used a triple berry fruit spread (Smuckers) for the filling.
Everyone loved it 🙂
Thank you for the recipe!
Allison
You’re welcome! Thanks for sharing your modifications. 🙂
Carol
Made these bars today. What a fantastic recipe!!! They’re so good. Thank you.
Tina
Have you tried adding peanut butter to the oatmeal mix for a peanut butter flavor ?
Allison
Hi, Tina. I have not tried that. If you play around with it I’d recommend decreasing the butter. Enjoy!
Kris
This was so good. I think it actually tastes better the next day. I was lazy and cooked it all at once instead of crust first and it turned out great.
Allison
I’m glad you enjoyed it! Thanks for stopping by. 🙂
Joy
I have celiac. Can I use almond flour instead of wheat flour or some other flour mix? Thank you
Allison
Hi! I usually recommend a 1:1 gluten free baking blend. I haven’t tried it with this recipe though.