Old Fashioned Lemon Oatmeal Bars
Lemon Oatmeal Bars
Crust & Topping
12 tablespoons (1 1/2 sticks or 170g) unsalted butter, softened to room temperature
1 1/4 cups packed light brown sugar
1 1/2 teaspoons pure vanilla bean paste (or extract)
1 1/2 cups (188g) all-purpose flour, leveled
2 cups old-fashioned whole oats
1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
Lemon Filling
1 (14-ounce) can full-fat sweetened condensed milk
1/4 cup lemon curd
6 tablespoons (90ml) lemon juice (about 2 lemons)
1 tablespoon lemon zest (about 1 lemon)
Instructions
Preheat the oven to 350°F (177°C). Line an 8-inch or 9-inch square baking pan with parchment paper, leaving an overhang on the sides to lift the bars out easily once cooled. Set aside.
In a large bowl, using a hand mixer, beat the softened butter and brown sugar together until creamy and well combined (about 2 minutes). Add the vanilla, flour, baking powder, and salt, and mix until combined. Stir in the oats until the mixture becomes a crumbly dough.
Set aside about 1/3 of the oat mixture for the topping. Press the remaining 2/3 of the oat mixture evenly into the bottom of the prepared baking pan. Bake at 350 degrees for 10 minutes.
While the crust bakes, whisk together the sweetened condensed milk, lemon juice, lemon curd, and lemon zest in a medium bowl until smooth and creamy.
Remove the crust from the oven. Pour the lemon filling evenly over the warm crust. **I swirled added dollops of lemon curd in on top of this layer for extra lemon flavor. Crumble the reserved oat mixture over the top of the lemon layer.
Bake for 25–30 minutes or until the top is lightly golden.
Allow the bars to cool completely in the pan at room temperature. Then refrigerate for at least 1 hour before slicing.
