Baking | Strawberry Oatmeal Squares

Of everything that’s been coming out of my kitchen over the past month, these were a top favorite!  It was so fun to check my phone last night and find out the Smuckers (you know, the jelly people!) had shared my photo on their Instagram with their followers.  This is not my original recipe, but Bethany from A Simple Palate was kind enough to allow me to share it here with my own changes added.  For ease of linking and for anyone who may be looking for a recipe to go along with the photo, here is my version of A Simple Palate’s “6 Ingredient Oatmeal Bars”.

Chewy and sweet with a wholesome crunch from the oats, these are a perfectly cozy baked good.  The sugar is dialed back enough of you to feel good about giving to the munchkins as a snack.  Hugo was a big fan, I was not a big fan of cleaning up his sticky little fingers after he smashed the whole square into his mouth.  Haha!  This recipe also travels well, I packaged most of them up and brought them along to the beach and they were perfectly yummy with an after dinner cup of coffee.  Or as a pre-breakfast nibble, I don’t judge when it comes to baked goods…

Strawberry Oatmeal Squares

2 1/2 cups  Gluten Free Oats

1 cup  Almond Flour

1/2 cup  Brown Sugar (you could even cut this to 1/4 cup if you like)

2 tablespoons  Peanut Butter

1/4 cup  Melted Butter

1/4 cup  Melted Coconut Oil

1 cup  Smuckers Natural Strawberry Spread

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Line an 8×8 square baking dish with parchment paper.  Combine first 6 ingredients in a food processor and pulse until mixture is comes to gather and looks crumbly.  Set aside 1/2 cup of oat mixture and press the rest firmly into the bottom of the prepared pan.  Pierce with a fork and bake for 10 minutes uncovered.  Remove from oven, cool several minutes and then spread jam over the top evenly.  Crumble reserved oat mixture over the top and bake 15-20 minutes.  Let cool completely before removing treats from pan and slicing into squares.  Enjoy!

This recipe is so versatile!  Just swap out the jam for any flavor you like.  Josh was talking about fig newtons the other day so I’m dying to try this with fig preserves for an easy gluten free version.  And blueberry jam would make for a gorgeous desert, especially if you added a powdered sugar glaze over the top!