Oatmeal Raspberry Bars

This is one of the few baked goods that I've come up with on my own. I was inspired to make this recipe by a woman who used to sell Oatmeal Raspberry bars on Sundays in the summer at the farmer's market in Summit, NJ. Every week one summer, I would buy a slice, which was really a thick slab and probably shouldn't have been eaten in one sitting. I eventually looked for a recipe to make my own, but no recipe was as thick as the ones I wanted to produce. So, I tried scaling up one recipe (by 2.5 times, if I recall), only to find that the bars wouldn't stay together enough to pick up a slice and eat it. (Though, it was still delicious as a crumble.) Through trial and error, I eventually came up with this recipe, which I like. It stays together like I wanted it to and it's absolutely delicious. I will admit that it's a bit of a pain to make because you have to stop and wash your bowl and mixing blade between making the base and the topping.

Base:

¾ cups of butter (1.5 sticks), room temp

1-1/2 cup light brown sugar

2 large eggs, room temp

1-1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

2 cups flour

¾ teaspoon baking soda

¼ teaspoon salt

2-1/2 cups old-fashioned oats

Topping:

½ cup of butter (1 stick), room temp

1 cup light brown sugar

1 large egg, room temp

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1-1/4 cups flour

½ teaspoon baking soda

¼ teaspoon salt

2 cups old-fashioned oats, plus more for sprinkling

Filling:

30 oz Polaner All-Fruit Seedless Raspberry spread (or more or less, to taste)

Preheat oven to 300 degrees. Butter a 9 x 13 inch Pyrex dish. Set aside.

Base: In a large mixing bowl, beat the butter and sugar until light and fluffy (about 2-3 minutes). Add the eggs and vanilla extract and beat until combined. In a separate bowl, whisk together the flour, baking soda, and salt. Add to the butter mixture and mix until well combined. Stir in oats. Press dough into the bottom of the prepared pan.

Spread the raspberry jam over the oatmeal base.

To prepare the topping, follow the same procedure as for the base. The texture of the topping, however, will be more crumbly than that of the base. Crumble this mixture over the raspberry jam. Sprinkle some dry oats on the top.

Bake for 40-45 minutes or until nicely browned. Place on wire rack to cool, then place in refrigerator to set for at least a few hours and overnight if possible. Cut into squares to serve.

Makes about 24 2-inch squares.