Oatmeal Raspberry Almond Bars ... shared with many

I made a big batch of these squares and loved everyone's comments. I brought them to work (more details on that), brought them to my sister's and shared them on Scrapbooking Night. They were a hit! It's not a 'low fat' recipe, but I cut the squares small enough that you could enjoy one as a snack.

Raspberry Almond Bars (adapted from http://www.robinhood.ca/Recipe-details.aspx?rid=2716)

Ingredients:

1 1/2 cups (375 mL) ROBIN HOOD® or OLD MILL® Oats

1 1/2 cups (375 mL) ROBIN HOOD® All Purpose Whole Wheat Flour

1 tsp (5 mL) baking powder

1/4 tsp (1 mL) salt

1 cup (250 mL) brown sugar, packed

3/4 cup (175 mL) butter, melted

3/4 cup Raspberry Jam ( I used the Triple Fruit, no sugar added)

1/2 cup (125 mL) sliced almonds

 Directions:

1. COMBINE flour, baking powder, salt and brown sugar in mixing bowl. Stir well to blend. Stir in oats. Stir in melted butter.

2. PRESS about 2/3 of crumb mixture into lightly greased 9" x 9" (3.5 L) cake pan. Spread with raspberry jam.

3. ADD almonds to remaining crumb mixture and sprinkle over jam. Pat down lightly.

4. BAKE at 350 F for 25-30 minutes or until golden. Cool. Cut into bars. Just before serving, sprinkle with icing sugar, if desired.

I cut them into 49 little squares (7 x 7) because these are not low fat, but filled with whole wheat and oats.

Nutritional Information per square: 76 calories, 10g carbs, 4g fat, 1g protein, 1g fibre, 1 g sugar

3 weeks after giving birth, my incredible sister invited me for lunch- impressive, right?  I am so grateful that I work only 5 minutes from her home. She had made this little spread for us, so I brought some of these yummy squares to say thank you!

Stephanie wasn't in the mood for lunch, so she just napped.

Well, I couldn't go visit without hugging and kissing her... it was so hard to leave and go back to work after lunch. The only form of comfort was that I had her little baby smell (a combination diaper wipes and Ivory Snow) all over me when I was back at work.