Nutella Cherry Oat Bars

These cookies came from one of my favorite blogs: Elly Says Opa! She made these back in February for World Nutella Day. I had never heard of World Nutella Day, but I am glad I have now since I am quite a fan of Nutella. I’ve had this recipe bookmarked since she first posted it, and the time was right to make them.

Ironically, I didn’t quite use as much Nutella as the recipe calls for. Hey, I had two jars of Nutella in the cupboard so I was sure I was fine. Ok, so I didn’t realize that both jars were nearly empty. I scraped together as much as I could; a bit shy of ½ cup, but it was enough to cover the oat layer that is the base of the cookies. I also got to use up my jar of cherry preserves. I almost used cherry apple chutney, but I thought that might be too runny. I must think of something to make with that chutney.

These were quick and easy to make, I was able to put them together in the time I was waiting for some cakes that I was making to cool. Make sure that you get the oatmeal mixed in completely or the dough will be hard to press in to the pan. Elly suggests warming to Nutella to make it easier to spread, but I didn’t need to. I did warm the preserves slightly to make it easier to work with. These have a great hazelnut flavor, but I would probably add even more chopped hazelnuts to the dough, just because I love hazelnuts so much.

1/2 cup butter, softened
1/2 cup light brown sugar
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1 egg
1 tsp. vanilla extract
1-1/4 cups flour
1/2 tsp. baking powder
1/4 tsp. salt
1/2 cup Nutella
2/3 cup cherry preserves
1-1/2 cups oats, divided
1/4 cup chopped hazelnuts

Preheat the oven to 350 and grease a 9″ square baking dish.

Beat together the butter and sugars until creamy. Add the egg and vanilla and beat until just incorporated. In a separate bowl, mix together the flour, baking powder, and salt. Slowly add the flour mixture to the butter mixture to combine. Stir in 1-1/4 cups oats. Press 2/3 of the mixture into the baking dish.

Spread the nutella over the crust, and then spread the cherry jam over the nutella. Add the remaining 1/4 cup of oats and the chopped hazelnuts to the remaining flour/crust mixture. Crumble the mixture over the nutella and jam.

Bake for about 25-30 minutes, until golden brown. Cool on a rack before cutting into squares.

Recipe from Ella Says Opa!