RECIPE: Cousin Beth's Jam Bars

A few weeks ago I made these Tastefully Simple Jam Bars. They were really, really good and reminded me of the jam bars someone would always bring to the potlucks at my Great-Grandmother's cottage. However, at $8 a box, they are not budget friends. My cousin Beth promised me she had a recipe that was just as good.

She lied. They are not just as good....they are so much better!


Cousin Beth's Jam Bars

Ingredients
1 stick butter - room temperature
1 cup packed brown sugar**
1/2 teaspoon almond extract
1 cup flour**
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 cup quick oats
1/2 cup jam, any flavor

Directions
Heat oven to 350˚. Beat butter and sugar in a medium sized bowl until fluffy, then beat in the almond extract. Mix in flour, baking powder and oats until crumbly. Reserve 1/2 cup of the crumb mixture. Pat the remaining crumb mixture into the bottom of a greased 8"x8" baking dish.

Spread the jam over the crumb crust in the pan and sprinkle with reserved crumb mixture. Bake 30-40 minutes, or until browned.

**NOTE: I only used 1/2 cup of brown sugar and used whole wheat flour instead of white. They were still fantastic!