Raspberry Squares

1 ½ cups flour

1 ¼ cups quick-cooking oats

1/3 cup sugar

1/3 cup packed light brown sugar

¼ tsp baking soda

¼ tsp salt

½ cup finely chopped pecans or almonds, or a combination

1 ½ sticks unsalted butter, softened but still cool, cut into 12 pieces

1 cup raspberry preserves (I used Smucker’s seedless raspberry jam)

1. Adjust an oven rack to the lower-middle position and heat the oven to 350 degrees. Spray a 9-inch square baking pan with nonstick cooking spray. Line with parchment paper or foil.

2. In the bowl of an electric mixer, mix the flour, oats, sugars, baking soda, salt, and nuts at low speed until combined, about 30 seconds. With the mixer running at low speed, add the butter pieces; continue to beat until the mixture is well blended and resembles wet sand, about 2 minutes.

3. Transfer two thirds of the oat mixture to the prepared pan and use your hands to press the crumbs evenly into the bottom. Bake until the crust starts to brown, about 20 minutes. Using a rubber spatula, spread the preserves evenly over the hot bottom crust; sprinkle the remaining oat mixture evenly over the preserves. Bake until the preserves bubble around the edges and the top is golden brown, about 30 minutes, rotation the pan from front to back halfway through the baking time. Cool on a wire rack to room temperature, about 1 ½ hours. Remove the squares from the pan using the wax paper handles and transfer to a cutting board. Cut into 1 ½ inch squares.