TASTE
Healthy jam bars sweeten up potlucks
| • | Serve up frittata hot or cooled |
By Elaine Magee
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Q. My grandma used to make these jam bars with some type of oat and white-flour sugar-crumb mixture. I've been thinking about them lately and can't find the original recipe. Can you figure out a light version of this?
A. Pick a jam, any jam. That's right, this recipe works with whatever less-sugar jam or preserve you love the most. For me, it's raspberry or boysenberry. But you can put darn near whatever preserves you want in the middle and it will turn out great.
I'm including this recipe in my ongoing series on potluck dishes because it is easy to make. Double the recipe, though, so you'll have enough on that potluck platter.
These bars already call for high-fiber oats but we are also using half whole-wheat flour, which pumps up the fiber a bit. The fat is trimmed back along with some of the sugar. One of these bars has more fiber (3 grams or more) than most of the granola and breakfast bars on the market, but these now have half the fat, one-third less sugar and more fiber than the original.
Original recipe contains 225 calories, 9 grams fat, 5.5 grams saturated fat and only 1 gram fiber per bar (without nuts).
FAVORITE JAM BARS
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Coat a 9-by-9-inch or 8-by-8-inch baking pan with canola cooking spray.
Add oats, flours, brown sugar, baking soda and salt to a large mixing bowl and beat with electric mixer on low speed to combine. Add margarine in chunks and beat on medium speed, cleaning margarine off of beaters several times, until a nice crumb has formed.
Drizzle buttermilk over the top of oat mixture and blend with mixer just until your crumb mixture has moistened nicely. Add one more tablespoon of buttermilk if needed. Spread 2 cups of oat mixture in the bottom of the prepared baking dish and press firmly. Spread jam on top with spoon.
If you're using nuts, stir them into the remaining oat mixture and sprinkle it over the jam in pan. Press firmly. Bake in the center of oven until golden brown (about 20 minutes). Let cool and cut into 16 bars.
Makes 16 bars.
Elaine Magee is a registered dietitian. Her latest book is "Comfort Food Makeovers." Find out more at www.recipedoctor.com.
