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!
Sheri
Are these soft enough for a toddler to eat?
Allison
Not sure. The crust can get a bit crunchy.
Ellen
Perfect texture and taste! Loved it!
Christin
Is there anyway to incorporate peanut butter into this tasty treat?
Allison
Oh! That’s a great idea. You’d have to play around with it. I have a recipe for peanut butter bars if you want to try those.
Katherine
Maybe add some peanut butter baking chips to the topping portion?
Jennifer
I put a thin schmear of peanut butter on the base layer before baking (really thin – you could easily see the oats), then used concord grape jelly for the filling. That little bit of PB went a long way, and they had a wonderful PB&J taste to them!
Monica
We’ve made it several time with all purpose flour and whole wheat flour. Also tried it with agave and cane sugar versus brown sugar. It’s amazing either way.
Allison
Thanks for sharing your experience. I’m glad you enjoyed them!
Peggy
OMG ! So easy and delicious 😋
Allison
I’m glad you enjoyed them. 🙂
Nancy’s eats
I used home made Mullbery jam and added sliver almond to the jam. Delicious and you cannot get any easier to make
Allison
I’m glad you enjoyed the recipe!
Marie
Great recipe but I would use less salt next time. I could taste the salt. Also, I added white chocolate chips to the flour mixture to balance out the tartness of the rasberry jam. My kids loved them.
Charlotte
There’s a little German town in Michigan we visit every summer. Their bakery has a wonderful fruit bar that my husband dearly loves. This recipe taste just like them—only better!!! Thanks for sharing.
I doubled the recipe, used Smuckers natural raspberry jam, and the juice of one lemon because my family likes them extra tart.
Allison
I’m glad you enjoyed them!
Linda
I made these today and filled them with rhubarb jam and they are so delicious, Thank you for sharing your wonderful recipe with us all, Linda
Allison
You’re welcome! I’m glad you enjoyed them!
Sophie
I used homemade peach jam and added shredded coconut to the mixture and also on top. Just came out of the oven and they look delicious!!
Allison
That sounds great! Enjoy!