Apple Berry Bars

I got a new cookbook for Christmas. I got the Taste of Home Baking Book. I really, really like this cookbook. I love to bake and I love Taste of Home so it is a perfect pair. I have made several recipe and not one of them has flopped. As soon as my KitchenAid stand mixer gets fixed, I'm going to try even more. I love my KitchenAid stand mixer.

I also love my apple-oatmeal bar recipe. As I was going through my new cookbook, I found a recipe for Apple Berry Streusel Bars. It was very similar to the apple-oatmeal bars but with raspberries in the middle with the apple. I made the recipe in the book and it wasn't just right (but still really good), so I tweaked my original recipe and made it tonight. Can you say, YUM?

This recipe is a great way to get oatmeal into my family and one of the recipes that I use my 25 lb bag of oatmeal in. The filling calls for 12 oz of raspberry jam. Since I made tons of raspberry jam this summer, it is pretty cheap. If you had to go out and buy a jar of jam it would raise the price but it's worth it. This would be good with just about any kind of jam, and you could probably just toss some berries (frozen or otherwise) with the apples, too. Blueberry would be good.

Apple Berry Bars
(makes a 9x13 pan, about 4 cookies for me!)

In a bowl, combine:

2 c. flour (I almost always use half whole wheat flour)
2 c. oatmeal (I use the old fashioned kind)
1 tsp. salt
1 tsp cinnamon
2 tsp baking powder
1 c. sugar

Cut in (like you would for a pie crust):

1 cup butter or margarine

It should resemble really coarse crumbs when you are done.
Press half (or a little more) of the mixture into a greased 9x13 pan.

In a separate bowl, combine:

4 c. chopped, peeled apple (or whatever you have - just make sure you have at least 4 c.)
12 oz (about 1 1/2 c.) raspberry jam

Spread the apple mixture over the crust in the pan. Sprinkle the other half of the oatmeal mixture over the apple/raspberry mixture. Press lightly.

Bake in a 350 degree oven for 35 minutes. Let cool and cut into bars. While it is warm it is really good but you'll need to use a fork. After it cools, you can pick them up and eat them with your hands. I think they are better cool, but my family likes them warm. You decide!

Enjoy!

Jill