Raspberry Oatmeal Squares

These are adapted from the Joy of Baking website. Everything from that site comes out perfectly for me! I also want to try these with wild blueberry and sour cherry jam.

Ingredients

Oatmeal Base

  • 113 grams (½ cup) unsalted butter room temperature
  • 200 grams (1 cup) light brown sugar
  • 1 large egg
  • 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
  • 165 grams (1¼ cups) all-purpose flour
  • ½ teaspoon baking soda
  • ¼ teaspoon salt
  • 180 grams (2 cups) old fashioned rolled oats divided

Filling

  • 280 ml (1 cup) raspberry jam or preserves

Instructions

  1. Preheat oven to 350°F and place rack in center of oven. Butter or line a 9 x 9 inch pan.
  2. In the bowl of an electric mixer, beat butter and sugar until light and fluffy (about 2-3 minutes).
  3. Add egg and vanilla extract and beat until incorporated.
  4. In a separate bowl, whisk together the flour, baking soda, and salt. Add to the butter mixture and mix until well combined.
  5. Stir in 155 grams (1¾ cups) of the rolled oats.
  6. Press ⅔ of the dough (about 450 g) into the bottom of the prepared pan.
  7. Spread the raspberry jam over the oatmeal base.
  8. To the remaining dough add the rest of the rolled oats. Crumble this mixture evenly over the top of the raspberry jam.
  9. Bake for 25-30 minutes or until nicely browned (27 minutes was perfect for me). Cool on a wire rack, then cut into squares.
  10. Best if made the day before serving. Store leftovers in refrigerator.

Notes

5 January 2025: I made these today with a homemade cranberry filling (which was the cranberry filling from JoyofBaking.com, scaled to the amount of cranberries I had on hand, and then pureed in a small food processor). It worked out well, although the raspberry is still the best filling I’ve found. I used a mix of light and dark brown sugar, again just based on what I had available. Rich thinks he would prefer these with a different topping, perhaps a streusel similar to the one I use on the small fruit crisps. It would also be interesting to try the oatmeal lemon squares on JoyofBaking.com.