Cherry Almond Oatmeal Breakfast Bars

Preheat oven to 350ºF. Line an 8×8 pan with foil and spray with nonstick spray—you don’t have to do this but I promise it makes the bars infinitely easier to get out of the pan.

In a bowl whisk together the old-fashioned oats, steel cut oats, flour, brown sugar, almonds and salt. Stir in the honey and melted butter; the mixture will be crumbly. Press half of the oat mixture into the bottom of the pan. Spread the preserves evenly on top. Sprinkle the remaining oatmeal mixture evenly on top of the preserves layer and then gently press it together—don’t press down too hard but gently apply pressure so that it doesn’t remain in the crumb state.

Bake at 350ºF for 30-40 minutes, or until the jam is bubbly and the top is golden brown. Remove from the oven and let it cool completely before cutting into bars. Enjoy for breakfast with a glass of milk!