The homemade snack kick continues!  These oatmeal bars vary from the previous granola bars (chocolate chip pretzel, honey peanut butter pretzel, and coconut chocolate chip) which were all variations on a similar theme.  These bars use flour in addition to the oatmeal, and have a layer of jam in the middle that contributes most of the sweetness.

I used the plum jam we made last summer from our backyard plums.  This jam had a definite tart note to it, so a sour cherry or a raspberry jam might be a good substitute.  This summer we’ll be prepared for the plum harvest.  Last year we were totally overwhelmed with hundreds of plums ripening in the same handful of days.  I envision lots more jam for next winter.

Breakfast Oatmeal Bars with Plum Jam

These bars aren’t very sweet, so they make the perfect breakfast or afternoon snack.  After quickly devouring 3 of these squares, I hastily wrapped the rest up before I ate the whole pan.  I loved the tart flavor of the plum jam, but you should use your favorite jam here.  Tart or sweet, they will still be delicious.

For the bars:

• 2 ripe bananas, mashed 
• 1/4 cup maple syrup
• 1/2 cup vanilla almond milk
• 1/2 teaspoon vanilla
• 1 1/2 cups old fashioned oats
• 1 1/2 spelt flour
• 1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
• 1/2 teaspoon salt

for the filling:

• 1 1/4 cup tart jam

for the topping:

• 2 tbsp white sugar
• 1 tbsp spelt flour
• 1 tbsp butter
• 1/2 tsp cinnamon

1. Preheat the oven to 375 degrees.
2. In a large bowl, mash the bananas until creamy and mix in the maple syrup, almond milk, and the vanilla.
3. In a separate medium bowl, mix together the oats, spelt flour, baking powder, cinnamon and salt.
4. Pour the dry ingredients into the wet ingredients and mix until everything is well combined. 
5. Grease an 8×10” baking pan and pour half the batter into the bottom of the pan.  Use a spatula to make sure the bottom is completely covered.  This will be a thin layer.
6. Add the jam on top of this layer of batter, again using a spatula to make sure it completely covers the layer of batter.
7. Add the rest of the batter on top of the jam.  Use a spatula to spread it around, but you probably won’t be able to cover all the jam.  That isn’t a problem.
8. In a small bowl, mix together the sugar, flour, butter and cinnamon for the topping.
9. Sprinkle the topping over the bars, concentrating on the areas where the jam is visible through the batter. 
10. Bake at 375 for 35-40 minutes or until the top is golden brown and firm to the touch. 
11. Let cool before cutting.  The recipe makes 24 bars.