The Bottomless Pit

by Kimberly Hickok

J, our 14-year-old son, is a bottomless pit. I just can’t believe the amount he eats. He’s 5′ 10″ and 125 lbs. I wish I could eat what he does and stay thin!

I used to have leftovers. Not any more! Those days are long gone. And now that track season has begun, he comes home absolutely ravenous. After practice the other day, he came in and scarfed down two bananas, some pretzels and I don’t know what. Then he sat down and ate a full dinner about an hour later.

It’s always a struggle making sure that he’s not eating empty calories. I was going to pick up some power bars to throw in his backpack but then I started thinking. Most power bars and granola bars are some sort of high fiber and fruit mix. Can’t I just make them myself?

I checked the pantry to see what I had – quick cooking oats, brown sugar, flour. Then I hopped on Google and began searching for “chewy oatmeal bar recipes”. Jackpot! I found what I was looking for.

Now we just throw a couple of bars into a small plastic container (not a plastic bag!) and he’s all set!

I made a few changes to the recipe. I didn’t have rolled oats so I substituted quick cooking oats and I used a combination of strawberry preserves and boysenberry spread as the filling. They take less than 10 minutes of hands-on time. The rest of the time is spent baking. Easy.

The recipe is below. Please feel free to share with me your favorite go to recipes.

Chewy Oatmeal Bars – absolutely delicious! They didn’t last long at all.

Delicious Raspberry Oatmeal Cookie Bars

Ingredients

  • 1/2 cup packed light brown sugar
  • 1 cup all-purpose flour
  • 1/4 teaspoon baking soda
  • 1/8 teaspoon salt
  • 1 cup rolled oats
  • 1/2 cup butter, softened
  • 3/4 cup seedless raspberry jam

Directions

  1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Grease one 8 inch square pan, and line with greased foil.
  2. Combine brown sugar, flour, baking soda, salt, and rolled oats. Rub in the butter using your hands or a pastry blender to form a crumbly mixture. Press 2 cups of the mixture into the bottom of the prepared pan. Spread the jam to within 1/4 inch of the edge. Sprinkle the remaining crumb mixture over the top, and lightly press it into the jam.
  3. Bake for 35 to 40 minutes in preheated oven, or until lightly browned. Allow to cool before cutting into bars.

You may also like

1 comment

Heather March 16, 2010 - 1:14 pm

Wow! What a great idea and half the cost. Those bars are great go to’s but get pricy! Thanks for sharing.

Oh. I love the blog, your voice and envy your guts and drive. When will I do something that fills the empty void?????

Reply

Leave a Comment

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

This website uses cookies to improve your experience. We'll assume you're ok with this, but you can opt-out if you wish. Accept Read More