Simple Oatmeal Raspberry Bars

I wanted to bake something easy and yummy to take to the awesome Moms' Group I attend most Fridays and this simple recipe was perfect- it used ingredients that I always have on hand and was fast enough that I could throw it together in the short amount of time between when I woke and when Little One did. I originally found the recipe here but have adapted it over time-- for my version you'll need:

I need to work on my food photography skills.

1 cup packed brown sugar

1 cup all purpose flour

1 cup whole wheat flour (feel free to use all one type of flour; I've discovered that I like the slightly heartier taste that using half whole wheat flour provides)

1/2 tsp baking soda

1/4 tsp salt

1 cup rolled oats (I used steel cut oats today as it was all I had and the result was a bit too crunchy for my taste- though everyone else enjoyed them)

1/2 cup butter, softened

1/2 cup applesauce (unsweetened is best, though if sweetened is all you have you could reduce the brown sugar by 1/4 cup)

1- 1 1/2 cups seedless raspberry jam to taste (any kind of jam or preserves will work here, but if you are using raspberry look for seedless-- I wanted to use an organic kind I had on hand and it tasted great, but the seeds gave it a bit of an annoying texture)

1/2 cup semisweet chocolate chips (optional, but why wouldn't you?) *

Preheat oven to 350 degrees and grease a 9x12 baking pan. In a large bowl mix together the sugar, flour, baking soda, salt, and oats. Cut in the butter and applesauce until there are no large chunks (the mix will be quite crumbly). Press 4 cups of the mixture into the bottom of the baking pan. Spread jam to within 1/4 inch of the edge of the pan. Sprinkle the remaining crumb mixture on top of the jam then add the chocolate chips if you like. Bake for 35-40 minutes until the crust is lightly brown at the edges. Wait until completely cool to cut and serve or else risk a crumbly, gooey (but still delicious) mess.

*I realize all my commentary makes this look less than simple, but I promise, this is as easy as baking gets-- well, besides Mark Bittman's sublime, addictive no-knead bread recipe-  but I'll let you discover that on your own.