Spiced Raspberry Bars

A lot of holiday recipes are kind of. . .well. . .frou-frou. Chill the dough, roll it out, cut it into shapes or weave it into a knot, dip it in melted chocolate, whatever.

I'm glad to report that this festive recipe takes only about five minutes of hands-on time. And the results? Yummmmm. 

Not to mention,while it's in the oven, your house will smell seriously delicious.

Spiced Raspberry Bars

(adapted from this recipe which I used because the dough is so melt-in-your-mouth to-die-for. Yes, two hyphenated statements were necessary.)

• 1/2 c. butter, softened
• 1 c. flour
• 1 c. rolled quick-cooking oats
• 1/2 c. brown sugar
• 1/4 tsp. baking soda
• 1/4 tsp. cardamom
• 1/4 tsp. cloves + extra for sprinkling
• 1 c. your favorite raspberry jam

1. Preheat the oven to 350F. Whisk the dry ingredients together with a fork, and then cut in the butter till  everything's nice and clumpy.
2. Press two cups of this mixture into the bottom of a greased 8x8 pan. Slather on the raspberry jam, leaving a little space around the edges, and then top with the rest of the oats mixture. 
3. Sprinkle with extra cloves and bake for 35 minutes or until the top is crisping and the jam is bubbly. Allow to cool for at least 15 minutes before cutting into it. (It will be hard to wait, but just imagine the sensation of molten jam stuck to the roof of your mouth. . .Yeah.)

You can eat the whole pan in one sitting if you want, because raspberries are a fruit and oats are Heart Healthy. At least that's what I keep telling myself. . . .



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