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!
Casey
This is my second time making these, they’re soooo addicting! I sent a batch with my son and husband to their work, and the guys at each job ate them all up and asked for more! I’ve made them with blackberry, boysenberry and peach jam, all are super delicious!!! Will definitely make again and again!
Allison
I’m glad you enjoyed them! Thanks for taking the time to comment. 🙂
Cheryl
Anyone know if lemon curd will work?
Allison
I haven’t tried it, but it sounds delicious! And maybe even a little lemon zest in the crust/topping? Yum! Enjoy!
Gwen Hardie-Bauer
Delicious and so easy to make.
Allison
I’m glad you enjoyed them. Thanks for taking the time to comment. 🙂
Anni
I made these bars to use up my leftover cranberry sauce as the jam layer. I forgot to prebake the bottom crust so I baked the whole thing for 25 minutes and it turned out great.
Allison
Perfect! I’m glad you enjoyed the recipe. Thanks for taking the time to comment. 🙂
D Aryd'ell Hotelling
These are awesome! Easy to make. Can’t wait to dive into them. Thank goodness our temps outside on the deck are in the 20s, so it will cool quickly. Made a double batch, used a 10 X 17 pan, added chocolate chips to the jam…will make a great holiday gift!! Thank you!!
Allison
That sounds delicious! Thanks for taking the time to leave a comment. Happy holidays!
Cher
Great crust base. First crust where the corners are nice, not overdone. The crust holds up and cuts very nicely. This will be my go to base moving forward.
Pam
Made these for my friend who is gluten intolerant. Just subbed in King Arthur Measure to Measure flour. Recipe worked perfectly gluten-free. I did note that the preserves need to be room temperature for ease of spreading.. So yummy and so easy. These will be a go-to cookie!
Allison
Thanks for sharing your experience. I’m glad you enjoyed them! 🙂
Shanleigh
Made these with apricot Jam – they are so good. Perfect combination of oaty, buttery, golden, sweet, jammy goodness. My boyfriend, who never has more than one or two sweets, had almost eaten the whole tray tonight. Will definitely be keeping this one in the repertoire 😀
Allison
I’m glad you enjoyed them! The apricot jam sounds delicious. Thank for stopping by. 🙂
Sally
I tripled the recipe & placed in a 9×13 glass baking pan. I didn’t precook before i layered the jam spread & baked for 20 minutes. I used my homemade cranberry/cherry sauce leftover from Thanksgiving that i froze. It turned out great !!
Allison
That sounds fantastic! Thanks for stopping by. 🙂
Helen
So easy and yummy! I made 50% extra and used an 8×10 tin. Made it vegan using a good quality vegan butter. Now I’m happy I’ve used up a best before 2016 jar of jam and I have a good recipe to use again! Thank you! 🙂
Allison
You’re welcome! I’m glad you enjoyed them. 🙂