Jelly or Jam Streusel Bars

Here is another newspaper recipe, most likely from the Chicago Tribune in the 1960's. This is the first time I've made these bar cookies, and they are a snap to make! I used quick oats. Since I didn't have a full 12 ounces of one flavor of jam, I did a "half-and-half" spread of apricot on one side (show in the picture above) and seedless red raspberry on the other side (my two favorite flavors of jam). The brand was Smucker's Simply Fruit. I took 3/4 of a cup of each flavor, put the spreads in separate bowls, and stirred them up to make the fruit more spreadable. I decided to grind the pecans to a very fine consistency using an electric mini grinder. You, of course, may want to keep the nuts in more of a chopped consistency.

1-1/2 cups sifted flour

1 cup brown sugar, firmly packed

1 tsp. salt

3/4 cup butter

2 cups rolled oats

1-1/2 cups jelly, jam, or preserves

1/2 cup chopped pecans

Combine flour, brown sugar, and salt. Cut in butter with a pastry blender until mixture is crumbly. Stir in oats. Save 1-1/2 cups of crumb mixture for topping. Press remaining mixture evenly over bottom of 13 x 9-inch pan. Spread the jam over the crumbs and top with pecans and remaining crumb mixture; press down lightly. Bake at 375 degrees F. until lightly browned, about 25 minutes. Cool. Cut into bars 3 inches long and 1 inch wide.

I cut the pan to yield 3 dozen bars, but if I had it to do over, I'd cut them smaller. The size recommended in the recipe is definitely too large. They were still slightly warm when I sampled them, so I'm not really sure about their flavor. They are not a sweet cookie, probably due to the fact that I used the unsweetened fruit spread rather than a sugary jam or preserve. At this point, I prefer the raspberry to the apricot. The oatmeal adds a chewiness that is typical of an oatmeal cookie. I will need to do another taste test when they are thoroughly cooled and a day old. I suspect their flavor will improve with age. If I were in a hurry, I might be tempted to grab one of these for breakfast as I went out the door.