Raspberry Jam Bars

These could really be called raspberry, strawberry, apricot, or blackberry jam bars. Any kind of jam you prefer. I need to make some boysenberry ones for my Mom the next time I go to our hometown. She loves that kind of jam. When I was younger my oldest brother's wife would send us 12 jars of jam from Knot's Berry Farms for Christmas. We loved to open that package when it came. There was always boysenberry jam in there.

See that delicious ribbon of jam in the middle? I am not sure where this recipe came from but I got it from my sister Rose and she also gave me another version to use if you don't have a cake mix. My favorite cake mix to use for this is the French Vanilla. I am crazy about vanilla and the flavor really comes through if you use this. Any white or yellow mix will do though, with good results.

Raspberry Jam Bars
1 white or yellow box of cake mix
2 1/2 cups of quick oats
3/4 cup melted butter
10 to 12 ounce jar of raspberry or and type of jam you like
1 tablespoon of water

Preheat the oven to 375 degree. Mix the cake, oats and butter together into coarse crumbs. Press 3 cups of the mixture into the bottom of a greased 9x13 pan firmly. Combine the jam and the water and spread over the cake/oats mixture. Sprinkle the rest of the crumbles over the jam and pat down a bit to even out. Cook for 20-22 minutes. It will start to turn golden. Cool completely and cut into bars.

Here's the version if you don't have a cake mix:
Jam Bars
3/4 cup butter, softened
1 cup brown sugar
1 1/2 cups of flour
1/2 teaspoon of baking soda
3/4 teaspoon of salt
1 1/2 cups of quick oats
1 10 to 12 ounce jar of jam/preserves
1 tablespoon of water

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. Mix the butter and brown sugar together. In a separate bowl, mix the flour, baking soda, salt and oats together. Add the butter mixture until coarse crumbs form. Press half of the mixture into the bottom of a greased 9x13 pan firmly. Combine the jam and the water and spread over the crumble mixture. Sprinkle the rest of the crumbles over the jam and pat down a bit to even out. Cook for 20-22 minutes. It will start to turn golden. Cool completely and cut into bars.