“Crumble” is an understatement when describing these bars, because they are super–crumbly! These Raspberry Jam Oat Crumble Bars have LOTS of crumbly oat topping and, of course, a raspberry jam filling–if you look hard, you can see the filling! :). I was inspired by this recipe at Kraft and made a few simple changes. If you don’t have raspberry jam, use strawberry jam. Or whatever flavor jam you like best. You could even use spreadable fruit if you want to cut down on the sugar.

These are easy to make and really yummy! You can make them in an 8 x 8″ or 9 x 9″ square baking pan. If you use a 9 x 9″ pan, the crumble topping won’t be quite as thick, since the pan is a little bigger–so your bars will be slightly thinner, too. But they’ll still be plenty crumbly. And since these bars are so very crumbly, make sure you have a plate to catch those crumbs when you’re eating these!

RASPBERRY JAM OAT CRUMBLE BARS by NancyCreative, adapted from Kraft Recipes

Makes an 8 x 8″  or 9 x 9″ pan (I used an 8 x 8″ pan for this batch)

• 1 1/2 cups quick-cooking oats
• 1 1/2 cups all-purpose unbleached flour
• 1 cup well-packed light or dark brown sugar
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 3/4 cup  (1 1/2 sticks) butter, chilled
• 1 cup (or one 12-ounce jar) Red Raspberry Jam (I used seedless jam)
• 1 cup pecans, coarsely chopped

Preheat oven to 350˚F. Line an 8 x 8″ or 9 x 9″ pan with parchment paper or spray with cooking spray; set aside.

Mix oats, flour, brown sugar, and baking powder in a large bowl. Cut in butter with pastry blender until mixture resembles coarse crumbs.

Press 3 1/2 cups of the oat mixture firmly onto the bottom of your square baking pan. Spread jam over crust. Mix pecans with remaining crumb mixture, then sprinkle over jam (it may look like you have too much crumb mixture for the top, but put it all on!)

Bake at 350˚F for 30 minutes or until topping is lightly browned. Cool completely on wire rack.

These bars would taste great warm with a scoop of ice cream, too. I love easy recipes like this! And I usually have all these ingredients on hand anyway, so that makes it even more convenient. Do you like jam bars, or do you have another favorite recipe using jam?