Raspberry Oatmeal Bars

I love these! I've made these a dozen times and here are a couple suggestions that I've found make them even better: As another user suggested, use 1 Tbsp lemon juice instead of the 1 Tbsp water. Also, I always add a few splashes of milk or evaporated milk of half and half (whatever I have on hand)to the cake mixture. It makes the bars stick together much better and they don't come out too crumbly at all.

Oh, man, these are good! I used lemon cake mix, and instead of adding water to the jam, I used lemon juice. The lemon-raspberry combo is simply wonderful. These came together so easily; they'll be a regular around here!

Wonderful snack! Healthy too since I replaced apple sauce instead of butter! I will make this again and again.

This is the easiest recipe with the best results. I make them the night before and cover the sheet pan with foil, and cut in the a.m. It can even be made up to 2 days ahead to be cut up on the third dat. This is a big hit at our bake sale and my brother-in-law has me make them every year for his birthday. This is not a cakey recipe. It doesnt even taste like cake, people can believe it when i give them the recipe. Try other fillings like fluff and chocolate chips,, peanut butter chips,, Anything goes with this!!!

I love this recipe! When the bars cool, I like to melt about 2 Tbsp. of white or cream cheese frosting in a bowl. Then I drizzle lines over the top in a lattice pattern. Gives these bars a certain finishing touch.

Wonderful and quick recipe. I also only had lemon cake mix on hand, and they turned out wonderful. I also substitued the water for lemon juice. A few tips: - Do not overbake, or they will be very dry. Mine took only 16 min. to bake completely. - Make sure your butter is completely melted. - Cut the squares, when they are completely cooled or they will crumble on you! Enjoy!

This bar was very good but too sweet for my taste. I served them at a baby shower and everyone loved them. They're the easiet and fastest recipe to make. I think next time I would use 2 cups of jam to create a fruitier flavor. All I could really taste was the cake mix.

I enhanced the flavor a little with adding 1/2 tsp. Vanilla and almond extracts to the dough. It really gave this recipe a boost. Will make again, thank you.

I made these using butter instead of margarine, Pilsbury Golden Butter yellow cake mix and strawberry preserves. The butter and butter-flavored cake mix became a little overwhelming after two or three bars. Next time I'll use just a basic yellow mix. Also, I used about 1 1/2 cups of preserves and would still like more fruit flavor next time. Awesome quick and easy recipe to have on hand with endless possibilities. Thanks!

As is, it's a great BASE recipe. I took another reviewer's advice and used a lemon cake mix. I also used fresh lemon juice in place of the water with the raspberry preserves. I didn't have any problem with sticky dough. It was a bit dry but it all worked out in the end. To take it over the top, I drizzled homemade lemon glaze with fresh lemon juice over the top. Ordinary dessert made extraordinary. NOTE: Try making it this way. Addictive little bars, lemme tell you.

If you want these to stick together and not be as crumbly, add 1 egg and 1 tablespoon of milk. Works like a charm every time. You'll need to increase the baking time a little with those 2 added ingredients. Don't undercook or they wont set, especially in the middle. 28 minutes always works perfectly for me. When the top is golden brown and the edges start to look brown, the bars are done. I always pop mine in the fridge for a few hours to make sure they set really well and I can easily cut them into pretty bars!

Good bars but next time I would increase the jam to 1 1/2 cups...seemed to need more fruit filling.

This recipe is a keeper! After reading the reviews and suggestions I decided to use Duncan Hines French Vanilla (white) cake mix. I've used the yellow cake mix in other recipes similar to this and didn't care for it at all. It's too sweet and has a flavor that reminds me of those store made sugar cookies. Anyhoo...I added 1 tsp. almond extract, used 1/2 cup applesauce and 1/4 cup vegetable oil instead of the margarine to cut down on the fat and calories, 1 1/2 Cups of Lingonberry Jam, 1 Tablespoon of lemon juice instead of the water as others suggested to cut down on the sweetness. Everything else I did the same way and baked it for 25 minutes. OMG! It's fabulous! Not too sweet, the crust stayed together nicely when I cut it and I had to arm wrestle my husband and son for the last piece. I'm really looking forward to getting creative with the cake and jam. Next I'm going to try it with Pineapple Cake and Orange Marmalade Jam. I'm going to sprinkle toasted almonds on the top. Can't wait.

Excellent and easy. Everyone loves the recipe! I used marmalade and called them marmalade bars (that the only jam I had.) They were a perfect bar with coffee at our morning coffee group. Note I didn't use the water. I just stirred jam with a fork. I have made this several times and now only grease sides of pan so jam won't stick. Plenty of grease in base so that part never sticks. Run a thin knife around edges after cooling 5-6 min. to eliminate sticking to sides....easier cutting.

These tasted like Strawberry Fig Newtons! I would definitely make them again. The topping tended to fall off, so I would probably press it down a little before baking next time. Otherwise awesome!

This are so good! Last week I made it with chocolate cake mix and strawberry jem, this week with french vanilla cake mix and fudge. So, so good! Thanks for the great recipe idea!

Make it about once every 2 months, and everyone loves them! Added a little bit of milk to the bottom half mixture so that it stays together better.

Megan, I tried these for the first time a while back and everyone LOVED them! I should have rated them back then and I apologize for not doing so. This recipe is so adaptable as others have said and so good! What I did was: I added a bag of frozen raspberries to the jam (didn't have raspberry so I used blackberry) and left out the water. I am telling you, my husband and daughter, who are food snobs, went crazy!!!! The cake mix makes these easy and delicious~!! I don't know how anyone couldn't like these! Thank you for sharing!

Raspberry Oatmeal Bars Haiku: "Seriously good. Can't be any easier. (Great for a bake sale.)" I've been making these for years, and can't believe I'm just getting around to unloading my 5-stars on this so-excellent-so-easy recipe! The only things that I do different is swapping water for lemon juice, and adding a splash of milk and 1/4 tsp. vanilla to the cake/oats. I've experimented w/ different cake flavors/fillers (such as chocolate cake w/ nutella in the middle, or lemon cake w/ strawberry jelly), but I've found that as written, this recipe always wows people who taste it, and even more fun is their being unaware at just how crazy simple it is to do.

This was my "new" cookie recipe for Christmas baking..I made them with white cake mix & raspberry seedless jam & with seedless strawberry, seedless blackberry & apricot...they are delicious...even my 87 yr old mom, says they are delicious. Thank you for such an easy recipe. I had my doubts, whenever I use a cake mix for something other than a cake, it never tastes that great, but this is the exception....

These are surprisingly good. In a panic i tried this recipe b/c i did not have enough flour to make bar cookies from scratch. I used a butter cake mix, added 1 t. vanilla, a splash of milk (as previously recommended), and lemon juice instead of water to apricot jam. they turned out quite good. if i make them again, i agree that they need more than one cup of jam.

One taste of these and it's an immediate OMG moment! So good! Altho I used white cake mix, next time I'll take others advice and try the lemon. I'd also like to try chocolate and possibly add in some coconut. There are so many wonderful possibilities for this delicious, yet ridiculously fast and easy dessert. Thank you so much for sharing Megan!!!!

Wow. Super easy and, as my husband put it, "Stupid Good." I threw these together during a commercial break while watching television with my husband. They are THAT easy. I made them, as I do with every first attempt with a new recipe, exactly as the directions stated. The end product was incredibly rich and very sweet...but to our taste, it was a wonderful and decadent dessert. I didn't detect a "fake cake mix" flavor at all. I think this will depend entirely on what cake mix you use. Some will be better than others. The only "complaint" or note I would add for others who want to make this is: The texture of this was very cobbler-y. Even the next day, it didn't set up into bars for me. It was magnificently delicious...but it never set into bars. I live in a very humid climate, so that might have something to do with it. Just make them well ahead of time if you need these for an event, or you might end up like I did with a very soft pan of goodies that would never do for cutting into neat squares. I will be making these and experimenting with new flavors a LOT in the future. My next attempt will be to add cinnamon to the crust mixture and use apple pie filling. Any fruit filling would work with this recipe, really.

Average...don't think I'll try them again. Very easy, though!

I made a few changes to this recipe as well... to suit what I was 'looking' for... I baked half the crust for 10 mins... added 1 brick of cream cheese, 1/2 c. sugar and 1 egg (thoroughly mixed) on top of that layer... then did the raspberry jam... added the rest of the crust/ topping and baked another 10 mins... turned out wonderfully!

Wasn't a big fan. My roommates dad in college used to make a recipe like this, and I've been searching for it every since. Falls apart too much, not wild about taste, almost commercial. Made for bbq, I think only one was eaten.

Wow, these were really good. Very sweet though. I took them to my Korean families house for Thanksgiving and they loved them. Asians don't typically like things too sweet so I was pleasantly surprised. I will try the version of the recipe that uses flour and brown sugar next time for a more granola and hopefully less sweet flavor. I took the recommendations of others and added lemon instead of water to the jam. I also added a dash of milk to the bottom layer to make it less brittle for cutting. The lemon was a great addition to the flavor of the jam and after letting them cool they cut perfectly. I enjoyed these cold better than at room temp.

Its so easy not much to critique. I used almost a whole jar 18 oz of seedless raspberry jam. (about 2 cups) I also included the lemon juice as directed by other reviewers and that change seriously makes this dish great, because it really needs the acid to combat the butter. I also drizzed cream cheese frosting (from this site) on the top. Very good, very easy.

I wasn't a huge fan of these but the kids loved them.

These are great! Not too crumbly and just the right butter & raspberry flavor. I'll make again and again.

I know, I know, I made some changes, so I'm not really reviewing THIS recipe. However, it was still excellent so it gets 5 stars with my changes, which were: French Vanilla cake mix instead of yellow and apple dessert filling instead of the raspberry jam. I also only had regular rolled oats instead of quick oats, but they turned out fine.

Really good and super easy I used a white cake mix and boysenberry jam 1 1/2 cups and also added 1/8 tsp almond extract. It was a big hit and so quick to make. thanks

This was a very big disappointment based on the previous reviews. It was super sweet and although it looked good I did not care for it. :-(

I could not believe that anything so easy could taste so decadent. I am going to try it with pineapple jam and maybe blueberry jam with french vanilla cake mix...the possibilities are endless! I did add a little bit more jam and dotted the top with margarine right near the end of the cooking time.

This had a great flavor especially considering I had very little raspberry filling to use. I didn't realize I was so low on raspberry jam so I used about a 1/3 cup fresh raspberries with it. It tasted great still and had a nice texture. Thanks for the quick and easy recipe!

Bake time was closer to 23 minutes.

Quick, easy and tasty. I sprayed my hands with cooking spray to spread the bottom crust. Also useful when make crispie treats.

Yum! So good and so easy! My father-in-law said it's the best dessert I've ever made...he's so easy to please! I will try using lemon cake mix next time, soundsn delicious!

This is a great bar recipe! It is very sweet but that's why it's so yummy. Works well with any jam. Friends especially like it with lemon curd and I have even used it with pie fillings. Turns out great everytime. Thanks Megan!

I have used this many times as per your directions and have also made with many substitutions. The flavor possibilities are endless-chocolate with cream cheese filling, lemon with strawberry filling, chocolate with caramel. Use your imagination!

I used regular oats as I didn't have quick-cooking on hand and they were a little chewy - next time I'd make the effort to get the quick-cooking ones, but these were still tasty.

This is a great easy recipe. I will agree with others that it can be too sweet. I use a white cake mix, but take out 1/2 cup of mix and replace that with 1/2 cup more of oats. I also used blueberry preserves and it turned out great.

Make this ALOT since discovering it! Great recipe! The first time I tried this I used white cake (was so good that way that's all I use) and added a handful of white chocolate chips on top of the raspberry, these are WONDERFUL!!! I keep threatening to try a different variation, but this is so good as is that I just can't! Thanks for a great recipe!!!

We love this recipe here.. it's great to do with the kids and they love having them as a treat in their lunches at school. My oldest decided to try it with a layer of cream cheese (mixed with a bit of milk) before the jam (we used strawberry last time).. soooooooo yummy! Thanks so much :)

Very good "fakeout" recipe.......tastes like homemade when it really took no time at all! Used raspberry preserves mixed with lemon juice instead of water, and added a splash of almond extract to the dough. mmmmmmm.......

My 12 year old made this easy recipe for a contest. She got 2nd place! It is so simple, yet the results are so tasty! It has possibilities for substitutions or alterations also: Chocolate cake mix? Different flavors of preserves?

This recipe was super easy and very good! The only adjustment I made was adding a little milk as previously suggested, I used pie/pastry filling (not as sweet as the jam) and I added some pecans to the dry mix. Mine came out great and I didn't think they tasted "cakey" at all. Hubby even really liked them and he is not a big sweet eater! Thanks for the recipe!

Easy and fantastic. I added more oats cuz I'm an oaty person. And I agree with adding more jam. We did strawberry and the bars didn't last long at our house. Very versatile recipe and easy to make for potlucks, etc.

These bars are absolutely NOT too sweet! They're bar cookies; they're supposed to be sweet. What I recommend is making them once, following the recipe exactly. Then if you want to add ingredients or substitute, you'll have a better idea what you're doing. I made these exactly following the recipe and thought they were scrumptious...raves from my guests, and the entire panful disappeared. I did think the bottom was a bit crumbly, but not really a problem. I added 1T milk to the bottom layer, and it held together better but had a different texture. I could not detect the aftertaste one reviewer claimed to find. I have used sliced almonds on the top and chocolate chips in with the preserves. Excellent! If you're looking for a delicious, easy dessert recipe, this will become your go-to recipe.

I make these all the time for parties and they always get rave reviews. They are always the first thing gone. I substitute light margarine to make them "low-cal" and make sure not to overcook so they are very moist.

Very good! Can use nearly any fruit. I have made this with canned pie fillings and canned fruits. It's always turned out great.

I have made these with both raspberry jam as well as apricot jam (my favorite), and they were both just awesome! Using a cake mix makes these bars very easy and quick to prepare. These bars are great to take to potlucks and BBQs in the summer.

PROS-Fast, easy, cheap. CONS-VERY,Very sweet...overly so. Definate cake mix flavor. This recipe is good in a pinch, but it needs some tweaking IMO. I would definately try the other suggestions of adding lemon juice to the jam, to cut the excess sweetness. Not a favorite of mine, but my husband thought they were great--but then, there is very little foodwise that he doesn't like!

LOVE THESE! I always used "Delicious Raspberry Oatmeal Bars" before, but these are much sweeter and yummier! I actually made both last weekend to do a taste test, and everyone loved these the best! I did make some changes as suggested by other reviewers - I used butter, always do. I also used lemon juice instead of water, and only used 2 cups of oats. Also, very important, I sprinkled chocolate chips over the jam before putting on the rest of the topping. YUMMMMMMMMM! I also have yet to use raspberry jam with any of these recipes - strawberry, apricot, and peach are our favorites, so we use those! Give these a try! SO YUMMY and EASY!!

Very good and simple to make. Makes a lot, so I might halve the recipe next time, but keep the amount of jam the same, as I found it a little dry. Thanks for the recipe!

An extra star for being so easy! I used 2 cups of peach jam that did set up. So, I didn't add any water. I added about 1/3 cup of coconut to the crumbs on top. These are extremely sweet, but I guess that depends on your jam.

These are really good - and so easy! I used blackberry jam instead of raspberry. The filling possibilties are endless... I did find, though, that I needed to bake the dish for longer than the recipe called for (it took about 40 minutes to get brown on top). This might be due to our higher altitude.

These bars came out great. I used non-stick foil and had no problem with sticking. I chose to add some chopped walnuts to the topping and really liked that addition.

I took these to work today and only got one complaint...that I didn't make enough! They are SO easy to make and SO GOOD!! Only had a white cake mix on hand, and used a little more jam and lemon juice instead of water. Will try chocolate chips next time and other flavors of jam too! Thanks for this easy recipe!!

This was not easy. The margerine was not really enough to wet all the cake mix and oatmeal. I was concerned that it wouldnt cook right. I was correct it baked up dry. This tasted like underdone cake/cookie mix. The reason I gave this four stars was because the jelly bottom layer with the jelly came out really well and tasted good. I dont know if I will make this again though.

These are GREAT! I love to have great recipes using a cake mix! I will make these for years to come. I also love Holly's Delicious Raspberry Bar recipe but these are super easy and I don't always have oatmeal.

Great tasting and great for making with little chef's! Added more raspberry jam than called for because I love it so much. Wonderful.

Wowzers! Super yummy. Rich and buttery crust matches well with the sweet and tart raspberries. And it was so easy to make because of the use of the cake mix. I will be a rock star when I make this for friends and family. I used lemon juice instead of water, as others suggested.

Voted the best at my cookie exchange!

These are super easy to make. I followed the recipe just added a full 18oz jar of raspberry preserves for a more fruiter middle. I will try using some lemon juice instead of water next time. Thanks for sharing.

One of the easiest (and tastiest) recipes you could make- fool proof. I used strawberry instead of raspberry; tasted GREAT. I will be making this over and over again. :)

This recipe was awesome. I didn't have yellow cake mix, but I had chocolate! I made it with Chocolate cake mix and Strawberry Preserves. The taste was awesome! Brought them to a Halloween party. Everybody loved them. They just melted in your mouth. I tasted fudgie and the strawberries just complemented the chocolate. Used a hand pastry blender to mix the dry ingredients...mixed it much easier than the spoon. Will definitely make these again and again.

Excellent snack food. I'll make a few of my personal modifications for flavoring, but the initial taste was very good. I did not have as large of a baking pan (mine was 8x8, versus the recipe's 9x13) so I used a baking pan of the former size. If you do end up using a smaller pan, just tack on several more minutes to the cook time. Mine were done in about 25 - 27 minutes. Let cool for 15 minutes before cutting, as it lets the bars set a bit more.

I made 3 batches of these for a Cancer Benefit Bake Sale. They were a hit! We sold every last one. I added a little vanilla to my cake batter and oatmeal. This is best served once it's been in teh fridge for a while and the flavors can marry. I also used 2 batches to make with boisenberry, which were excellent as well. Quick, easy and Yummy!

I've made these several times...used apricot jam and mini chocolate as well as raspberry and blackberry jam. Also added mini chocolate chips...YUMMY!

I made these using the lemon cake mix. I thought they were amazing. I did use more jam and they seemed to take longer to bake. I had a little trouble with the outside edges burning. I took them to a party and everyone raved over them!

These were so easy and the results were delicious! I used a pastry blender to mix the butter.

awesome! make sure your raspberry jam doesn't have too much sugar (I just checked labels and wound up buying a cheaper brand). Yummy!

Everyone else LOVED this, but I thought it was too sweet. I used a French Vanilla mix (adding a few tablespoons of milk to help it stick together more) and home-made berry cherry jam. I also used butter instead of margarine.

This was soooo easy! I used white cake mix, 2 cups of oats, mixed in a little vanilla to melted butter and a homemade Rasberry Jam - no water - about 2 cups,a layer of white chocolate. I had to cook until center appeared to breath. Once cooled and cut, I dusted with powder sugar and drizzled with Dark chocolate for an elegant and "specialty bakery" look.

I rated these 5 stars years ago as they are excellent. Just a side note, I made them today with strawberry preserves and golden cake mix and they tasted like an amazing strawberry shortcake type dessert. Highly recommend!!!

I love this recipie! It is one of my "go to" things to make when I need something quick and easy for a party or get together. I usually cut down the butter to 1/2 cup and add a little bit of milk instead to make the dry stuff stick together.

I am giving this 4 stars because I feel that there is not enough fruit filling called for in this recipe. Like others have noted, I would increase the jam to 2 cups. I would use the tartest jam you can find to compliment the sweetness of the cake. Using lemon juice adds to the tartness as well. I did not use all the crumb mixture, probably had a cup leftover and it was perfect. Wait until these are totally cooled to cut. I cut them in triangles for added effect. I will make these again with endless jam/cake mix combos...can't wait to try choco cake w/ raspberry jam!!

These are great. Use real butter, not margarine.

This recipe is excellent! I've made it just as the recipe states and have boxed them up in cute tins for my family for 2 years now. They loved them so much the first year that they were requested again. Will probably be a staple gift item for a long time to come! It's easy to make them in bulk :-)

Used strawberry jam instead and added a splash of milk to the dry ingredients. I also used lemon juice vs. water. :)

THESE ARE AMAZING. Such a huge hit! And SO easy!

Okay- I truly screwed up this recipe, and it still turned out great, just different than the original seemed to be. Rather than 3/4 C butter, I used 1/2 C applesauce and 1/4 canola oil, plus 1/2 C egg substitute. Also, I then spread 3/4 of the mixture in the bottom of a jellyroll pan, topped with jam and lemon juice, then dropped the remaining cake mix mixture in heaping teaspoons. It came out very cakey but great, and I drizzled a lemon icing that was simply made with lemon juice and powdered sugar as soon as they came out of the oven. The result tastes a great deal like raspberry danish!

THIS IS A "THANK YOU " TO MEGAN . I HAD A BOX OF DUNCAN HINES PINEAPPLE UPSIDE- DOWN CAKE MIX AND DIDN'T KNOW WHEN I WOULD USE IT . I USED IN PLACE OF THE YELLOW CAKE MIX AND IT CAME OUT GREAT .

Soooo EASY to make....could do it with my eyes closed! No need to change or add a thing. Really yummy too!

Not the best recipe for raspberry bars, I used two different pans, one glass, one metal, the bars in the glass pan were overdone. I think the recipe needed a clearer test for doneness than just checking for a brown topping.

I used all fruit seedless raspberry, a bit more than what was called for, and this turned out to be a big hit at the bake sale.

This is delicious and easy to make, but not amazing when compared to all the other great cookies in the world. I made it to the recipe and added some vanilla to the dry mix and lemon to the raspberry (yum). The bars are too sweet for me. Next time I will not use a cake mix so that I can add the amount of sugar necessary.

I have made this three times now. First I used sugar free raspberry seedless preserves the first two times and homemad blueberry preserves the third time. Added a layer of mini chocolate chips every time over the fruit before adding the "crust". Thanks! Great and easy!

I think these bars taste great..but I had a problem getting them out of the pan. They cooked and cooled for the right amount of time..but are still crumbling apart. I will make these again though..so thank you for this recipe!

I loved how quick this was to put together and bake. I like that it bakes in a 13x9 pan, too (an 8x8 pan is never enough). Will make it again and again.

Fantastic. The only thing I did differant was to add toasted finely chopped pecans on top.

I was surprised how quick & easy they are. I added 2 cups of jam instead of 1 & they turned out great. This recipe is definately a keeper!

made these to cheer up a friend who doesn't like cake on the one year anniversary of our friends' death. Substituted a mixture of homemade Nantucket beach plum jelly and black raspberry jelly for raspberry, and added some lemon juice, as the whole thing is extremely sweet. Just a suggestion: you may want to add more fruit filling, as the top and bottom are the same mixture, and can overpower the jelly. They were loved by the cake hater!

Very quick very easy. I too added a slash of milk to the cake mix and exchanged the water for lemon juice. Great flavor that way and the milk really helps it come together. Without it, it would be hard to get in mixed through. I do think this is a good base recipe to play with - think lemon cake with coconut and nuts and maybe a pineapple jam filling instead?

These were ok - I think I prefer the ones I make without using the package cake mix. I didn't care for the aftertaste that I thought was quite prevalant. I used almost double the jam - can't imagine 1 cup being enough. I will say that this was so easy and accetable when in a hurry for something sweet. Thanks for the recipe.

Waaaaay too sugary. These tasted like a mouthful of cake mix.

Easy and fun to make. This would be a great kid friendly recipe. I made it alone but could see how this would be something my 4 young children could even make. I used strawberry preserves since that's all that I had on hand and used the lemon juice in place of water, also I didn't have the quick oats so I used the long cooking ones and just soaked them in a little water for a few minutes and then pressed the water out of them before adding to the cake mix and butter mixture. This worked perfectly. My family enjoyed them. Thank you!

This is so easy! I made it for a staff meeting and it almost didn't make it into work it was so good. This is a definite make again.