Fruity Oatmeal Bars

I have a confession to make: despite having cooked all of my own food for the past 3.5 years (since going vegan), I'm still a newbie when it comes to baking. I'm not the biggest "sweets person", and when I do eat junk food, I like to buy it - I like to think that I'm helping sustain & create a demand for vegan goodies in supermarkets/cafes, etc. Or maybe that's just an excuse I make because I'm lazy to bake sometimes.

Anyway, I've recently been getting into baking. If you, like me, are new-ish to baking and want a really good, thorough guide to vegan baking, I'd highly recommend The Joy of Vegan Baking by Colleen Patrick-Goudreau. It's really detailed about everything, from how to bake without eggs to the use of various baking/kitchen tools to how to get around common baking troubles/mistakes, etc.
Anyway, the following is simple fruity oatmeal bar recipe, which goes well with a glass of soy/almond milk on the side.

Fruity Oatmeal Bars

1/2 cup packed brown sugar
1 cup unbleached all-purpose flour
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
1 cup (80g) quick-cooking oats
1/2 cup non-dairy butter or margarine
3/4 cup fruit (raspberry, strawberry, peach etc) preserve of your choice

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Preheat the oven to 350°F (180°C, or gas mark 4). Lightly oil one 8 or 9-inch square pan on all sides.

In a medium-sized bowl, combine the brown sugar, flour, baking soda and rolled oats. Add the butter and, using your hands, create a crumbly mixture. Press two-thirds of the mixture into the bottom of the prepared pan. Spread the jam to within 1/4-inch (6mm) of the edge. As offset spatula works well for this.

Sprinkle the remaining one-third of the crumb mixture over the top, and lightly press it into the jam. Bake for 35-40 minutes, or until lightly browned. Allow to cool before cutting into squares.

A strawberry-oatmeal bar with almond milk.

Makes 6-8 bars, depending on the size.