When my son was young, he attended a daycare/preschool in downtown Portland, Oregon, on the first floor of my office building. Not only was it a convenient school relative to my place of work, it was a magical and sweet little school too. The teachers were amazing and so was the curriculum and overall learning environment. I truly miss Joyful Noise.
Thank you for reading this post, don't forget to subscribe!Joyful Noise was not only a magical place of learning, it was where one could find Roxanne, the school’s cook, whipping up some of the most wonderful homemade meals. Roxie made just about everything from scratch and her food was utterly delicious, absolutely nutritious and incredibly diverse. She had a knack for getting kids to eat a variety of foods including her green salad with homemade ranch dressing or her Indian dahl (yes lentils!). She kept our kids well fed, happy and loved. And, it wasn’t just the kids that loved Roxie’s food, us parents love it too…especially her famous jam bars. Buttery oat bars filled with sweet berry jam and baked until golden brown, crumbly on the outside and gooey on the inside. These bars were everyone’s favorite, and at the end of the day, there were always extras waiting for tired moms and dads to enjoy.
This week, Drew started third grade. While gone are the precious days at Joyful Noise, we can still relive preschool through our memories and through the meals that Roxie used to serve. So, I present to you, my very best rendition of Roxie’s famous Strawberry Jam Bars.
To make these jam bars, start by preheating the oven to 350 deg F. Butter an 8”x8” glass baking pan and set aside. In a large bowl, mix together 1 cup of flour, 2 cups of quick oats, 2 tablespoons of hemp hearts, ⅓ of a cup plus 2 tablespoons of brown sugar, ⅓ cup of granulated sugar and ¼ teaspoon of salt. Next, add ¾ cup of softened butter. Using your hands, incorporate the butter into the dry ingredients until well combined.
Scoop 3 cups of the oat mixture into the prepared glass baking pan and using the measuring cup, press the mixture firmly into the bottom of the pan. Next, evenly spread 1 cup of strawberry jam over top of the oat layer with the back of a spoon.
Sprinkle the remaining oat mixture over top of the strawberry jam and gently press the crumble into the jam with your hands. Bake the jam bars for 25-30 minutes or until the jam is hot and bubbly and the oat topping is golden brown. Allow the jam bars to cool completely before slicing. This recipe makes 12 jam bars.
Strawberry Jam Bars
Ingredients
- 1 cup all-purpose flour
- 2 cups quick oats
- 2 tbsp hemp hearts
- ⅓ cup plus 2 tablespoons brown sugar
- ⅓ cup granulated sugar
- ¼ tsp kosher salt
- ¾ cup softened butter
- 1 cup strawberry jam
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350°F. Butter an 8"x8" square baking pan and set aside.
- In a large bowl, mix together the flour, oats, hemp hearts, sugars and salt.
- Mix the butter into the dry ingredients with your hands until well incorporated.
- Scoop three cups of oat mixture into the baking dish and using the bottom of the measuring cup, press the mixture firmly into the bottom of the pan.
- Evenly spread the strawberry jam overtop of the oat mixture with the back of the spoon, then scatter the remaining oat mixture over top of the jam layer.
- Bake the bars for 25-30 minutes until the jam is hot and bubbly and the oat topping is golden brown.
- Allow the bars to cool completely before slicing. This recipe makes 12 bars.
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