Raspberry Oatmeal Bars

As the end of my pregnancy nears, I feel like I could be doing or making things for the last time before the baby arrives. I was recently scheduled for a shift in a different department than my usual one and realized it could be my last time in that department before my maternity leave.

So clearly that meant I needed to bake for them.

I had saved this recipe to my "Recipe Box" on allrecipes.com more than a year ago. I don't know why I never made them - they are amazingly cheap, easy and taste absolutely fantastic. They are perfect for summer, too - the berry taste is very prominent, and the bars are so soft and buttery it is ridiculous. I'm a sucker for anything involving cake mix, too. I will definitely be making them again and hope to substitute some other kinds of jam in, too - I'm imagining blackberry, strawberry ... mmmm ...

They were a hit with my coworkers, and my husband suggested that I start selling them.

Ingredients

1 (18.25 ounce) package yellow cake mix
2 1/2 cups quick cooking oats
3/4 cup margarine, melted
1 cup raspberry jam
1 tablespoon water

Directions

1. Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F (190 degrees C). Grease a 9x13 inch pan.

2. In a large bowl, mix together oats, cake mix, and melted margarine so that it makes nice clumps and there is no dry mix left. Press 1/2 of the oats mixture evenly into the bottom the prepared pan. In a separate bowl, mix jam with water, and spread over the crust. Sprinkle the remaining oat mixture evenly over the top.

3. Bake in the preheated oven for 18 to 23 minutes, or until the top is lightly browned. Cool before cutting into bars.

Source: allrecipes.com