Using Up My Jam

My kids love Nutrigrain bars. Love them. Read the label. Not good. Looked at the organic fruit bars at Trader Joe's and other groceries and thought (as a good DIY girl does) "I can make those." I must confess this is not my recipe. But it really is just perfect the way it is. No need to tinker with it. The best part is that I have all of the ingredients on hand at all times.

AND there is a bonus! In making the fruit bars I used up 5 half full jam jars from the refrigerator. I did one pan of cranberry/pear/peach/scuppernog bars (delish BTW) and one pan of lime curd (also yummy just not as weird). Did I mention that I am a canning addict? I am. I have what seems like a thousand jars of jam that I made in 2010. Spring is around the corner and before I know it it will be time to pick strawberries which means MORE JAM. So I plan to make a pan of these a week and try to reduce the number of jars in my larder to make room for the new ones.

These are from www.CarriesCooking.com:

Almost Nutri-Grain Bars

Ingredients
1 cup rolled oats
1 cup whole wheat flour
2/3 cup brown sugar
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 cup oil
1 egg
1 teaspoon vanilla
1/4 cup apple juice
10 ounces jam (apricot, blackberry, blueberry, raspberry, strawberry, or apple butter)
1 tablespoon water

Directions

1. Combine oats, flour, brown sugar, baking soda, and salt in a bowl and mix thoroughly.
2. Add the oil, egg, vanilla, and apple juice, and mix with a spoon or a mixer.
3. Press 2/3 of the mix evenly into a greased 8x12 pan.
4. Mix the jam with the water, and spread evenly over the mix.
5. Crumble the remaining oat mixture over the top, and bake at 325 degrees for 30-40 minutes or until golden brown.
6. Before cutting, cool completely.