Easy Cherry Oat Bars

If you’re looking for a quick and delicious recipe to satisfy your sweet tooth, this is it! These tasty bars are packed with flavor and are great for a quick, on-the-go breakfast, a packable lunch box treat, or an after dinner dessert served with a scoop of vanilla ice cream. If desired, switch up the filling with whatever flavors you have on hand… I’ve used strawberry- rhubarb jam, strawberry preserves, and blueberry spice spread.

Easy Cherry Oat Bars

• 18 ¹⁄₂ounce box white cake mix
• 2 cups quick cooking oats
• ³⁄₄cup butter, melted 
• 1 cup cherry preserves
• 1 tablespoon water
• ¹⁄₂cup  pecans, finely chopped

Directions

• Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Spray with cooking spray a 9×13” pan.
• In a large bowl, mix together the cake mix, oats and butter until butter has been evenly distributed and mixture is crumbly.
• Press two-thirds of the oat mixture evenly into the bottom of the prepared pan. (I use the bottom of a square plastic bowl to firmly pack the mixture in place.)
• In a separate bowl, mix the preserves with water and carefully spread over the crust.
• Add pecans to the remaining one-third of the oat mixture and crumble this over the top of the cherry layer.
• Bake 375 for 28-35 minutes or until the top is lightly browned and the center doesn’t collapse when you press lightly.