Strawberry Oatmeal Bars

Food is my passion.  I was born to eat and drink.  After I got married, this purpose in life expanded to "cooking, baking and pouring".  Being married to not only the most amazing husband in the world, but also the most grateful and appreciating consumer of my dishes and drinks, stimulates and motivates to continue to surprise my family and try new things out.

So, as I try out recipes, possibly even come up with my own, I am going to share the hits on my blog.

STRAWBERRY OATMEAL BARS

One of the treats to myself is watching The Pioneer Woman on the Food Network every Saturday.  When the kids have their "quiet time", Mommy has hers:  Mommy + a cup of tea + pillows on sofa + cooking on TV = "Poifect".

Last week, The Pioneer Woman shared the recipe of Strawberry Oatmeal Bars.  This morning, I realized I had all the ingredients in the house.  What better than trying out new recipes without having to shop for it?

This recipe is easy to make, fun to assemble with the kids (mine LOVED getting their hands dirty while mixing it all together).  The outcome: oatmeal and butter made my hands soft.  Dear Husband wanted to have the Oatmeal Bars for lunch and the kids...well, they're napping.  I'll save them a piece for snack time.

Ingredients:

1 3/4 sticks salted butter, cut into pieces, plus more for greasing pan

1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour

1 1/2 cup oats

1 cup packed brown sugar

1 teaspoon baking powder

1/2 teaspoon salt

One 10 to 12-ounce jar strawberry preserves

Directions:

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Butter a 9x13" pan.

The recipe doesn't clarify if the butter needs to be cold, room temp or softened.  I softened it, but it made it difficult to press the mixture in the pan.  The next time I will probably use cold butter and see how things come out then.

Mix together the butter, flour, oats, brown sugar, baking powder and salt.  Press half the oat mixture into the prepared pan.  Spread with the strawberry preserves.  Sprinkle the other half of the oat mixture over the top and pat lightly.

Bake until light brown, 30 to 40 minutes.  Let cool completely, and then cut into squares.

Enjoy!