Strawberry Oatmeal Bars

I made these this week for our Bible study luncheon.

They were so good! And since we had a Valentine's Day theme, I thought the strawberry jam went along nicely. Over half the pan was empty by the time we were done... and our group was small that day, about 12-15 people. So that oughta tell you how great these were! Plus, I received several compliments. They're great as dessert, but I think they'd make a cute Valentine's Day breakfast treat.

Strawberry Oatmeal Bars

(Recipe by Ree Drummond)

(I'm sure she'd do a much better job of photographing them, but unfortunately, she didn't. So you're left with my sad depiction...)

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 9-by-13-inch rectangular pan.

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. Makes 24 bars.