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!
Ttinney
This recipe is excellent. I tripled it and used a 9×13 pan. The base took longer to bake and puffed up very high since it was thicker but browned up nicely. I used my homemade jam in a variety of flavors. The final product was crispy around the edges and ooey gooey in the middle. The oats give a great chew! I also made a single batch using gluten free flower which was delicious as well. My coworkers were just delighted!
Celebrating Sweets
I’m glad you enjoyed them! Thanks for taking the time to comment and share your experience. 🙂 -Allison
Lynette Emsley
We have now made 2 trays of this for my son as breakfast bars as he can be a fussy eater in the daytime. We use a larger tray and make 12 bars and freeze them until we need them. My son adores them so much better than anything that can be found in a store. The recipe is fantastic and works out excellent value for money too. Delicious
Celebrating Sweets
Thanks for the kind review! I’m glad you enjoyed them. 🙂
Alva Casteel
Can you substitute the all purpose flour with almond or coconut flour?
Celebrating Sweets
No, those are not a substitute for all purpose flour. You should be able to use an all purpose gluten free baking blend if you need a gluten free alternative.
Renee Raschio
These are excellent, they turned out very well, and did not make to much of a mess in the kitchen.
Celebrating Sweets
I’m glad you enjoyed it!
Lisa
Made this with blueberry jam and it was amazing. Great recipe. Thank you for this one!
Celebrating Sweets
I’m glad you enjoyed them. Thanks for taking the time to leave a comment. 🙂
Jane powell
This is a new favorite for us! Made a pan instead of a cake for my husband’s birthday treat! Easy and delicious!
Celebrating Sweets
I’m glad you enjoyed them! Thanks for taking the time to comment. 🙂
Sabrina
What can I use to substitute the butter?
Allison
You want something that will firm up once it cools since it helps to hold the crust and topping together. You can try something like Earth Balance, but I haven’t tried it so I can’t say for sure.
Luisa
Love this recipe! They didn’t last one day in my house!
Allison
I’m glad you enjoyed them! Thanks for taking the time to comment. 🙂
Jane
These oatmeal bars are amazing. I hit with everyone
Allison
I’m glad you enjoyed them! Thanks for taking the time to comment. 🙂
Danita
Wow these are great! I think I’m going to add peanut butter to the batter next time to make PB&J bars. These are super delicious great recipe
Allison
That sounds delicious. Have fun playing around with it. Thanks for stopping by! 🙂