Monday, June 13, 2005

Snack Attack

After all that heavy theologizing...time for a cookie break, I say.

The following recipe comes from my aunt -- also an enthusiastic berry picker and jam maker -- who baked these every year for Christmas for as long as I can remember. I've tried using different kinds of jam in them, but to me raspberry jam tastes best.

For some reason the people at my parish are particularly wild over these cookies, and in fact one of my fellow parishoners swoops down upon them every year at our big annual yard and bake sale, buys 'em all up and freezes them -- says they taste good eaten right out of the freezer. I myself prefer them still a little oven-warm and gooey. But since I'm trying to cut down on sugary, buttery things, I will be content to enjoy them in my imagination. You, on the other hand -- eat; you look thin.

RASPBERRY BARS

350 degrees 25-30 minutes

1/2 cup butter
1 cup brown sugar
1 1/2 cup flour
1/2 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. soda
1 1/2 cup oatmeal
2TBS water (to start -- you may need a bit more)
1 cup raspberry jam

Spray 9 by 13 pan with cooking spray.

Cream together butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Sift together dry ingredients except oatmeal; stir into creamed mixture. Add oatmeal and 1 TBS water. Mix until crumbly.

Firmly pat half the crumb mixture into the pan. Spread with jam. Stir remaining water into remaining crumbs. Sprinkle over jam filling and lightly pat smooth.

Bake at 350 degrees for 25-30 minutes. Cut into bars.

4 comments:

Joe said...

C is for cookie, is good enough for me.

C is for cookie, is good enough for me.

Cookie, cookie, cookie, starts with C!

(I thought that I'd use this snack break as a chance to promote the poetry of the Cookie Monster, seeing as how the House is about to cut his funding and he'll soon be out of work)

Grace and Peace,
Joe

LutheranChik said...

If I thought about that too much I'd wind up eating the whole freaking pan of cookies, and washing them down with vodka until I passed out. (Which, since I'm on blood pressure medicine, would take about a thimbleful.) Gaaaaaah!

Charlotte said...

I'm going to have to remember this one for coffee hours.

LutheranChik said...

I've thought about trying prepared lemon curd in the middle -- something just a bit on the tart side -- but I'm not sure it would hold up during the baking process.