Cherry Almond Oatmeal Breakfast Bars

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When I was pregnant with Weston I would treat myself to two things from Whole Foods once a week: a massive hot bar box of Indian food (Nate doesn’t dig curry and I could eat it for days) and a massive – really, think size-of-your-face-massive – raspberry oatmeal bar. Since it’s Whole Foods and you can’t leave there without actually spending part of your retirement it was a once-a-week treat that I looked forward to for the entire 2nd and 3rd trimesters.

While I can’t totally claim to have recreated the Indian food part of that story (this is a fabulous dish though – thanks Becky!) I can say that I’ve recreated my favorite jam squares using my all-time favorite Bonne Maman Cherry Preserves and tons of Quaker® Old-Fashioned Rolled Oats AND some Quaker® Steel-Cut Oats. In short I think it’s a pretty phenomenal way to celebrate National Oatmeal Day (YAY OATS!) on October 29.

You guys know that I have always had a love-hate relationship with traditional oatmeal, and with the cooler weather coming soon I can totally see myself turning more and more to my favorite bowl of hot oatmeal in the morning, but for now I’m thinking that these oatmeal bars are a perfect way to fit in some great oatmeal texture and flavor for breakfast, or even any time of the day. Besides, they’re so customizable – don’t like cherry preserves? No worries, use your favorite – and know that I still love ya 🙂 Besides, more for me!

CHERRY ALMOND OATMEAL BREAKFAST BARS

Makes 9 bars

1-1/4 cups Quaker® Old-Fashioned Rolled Oats
1/4 cup Quaker® Steel Cut Oats
1 cup whole wheat pastry flour
1/2 cup light brown sugar
1/2 cup raw slivered almonds
2 Tbsp honey
1/2 tsp salt
10 Tbsp butter, melted and cooled slightly
1 cup cherry preserves

Preheat oven to 350. Line an 8×8 pan with foil and spray with nonstick spray – you don’t have to do this, but I promise it makes the bars infinitely easier to get out of the pan. In a bowl whisk together the old-fashioned oats, steel cut oats, flour, brown sugar, almonds and salt. Stir in the honey and melted butter – the mixture will be crumbly. Press half of the oat mixture into the bottom of the pan. Spread the preserves evenly on top. Sprinkle the remaining oatmeal mixture evenly on top of the preserves layer and then gently press it together – don’t press down too hard, but gently apply pressure so that it doesn’t remain in the crumb state. Bake at 350 for 30-40 minutes, or until the jam is bubbly and the top is golden brown. Remove from the oven and let it cool completely before cutting into bars. Enjoy for breakfast with a glass of milk!

Also, be sure to vote for your favorite Quaker® Oatmeal recipe here (hopefully it’s mine!)!