Delicious Buttery Bars

Mom made these last week for a dessert. When I first heard her describe as "strawberry bars" I wasn't too excited, then I had one and then another. They turned out to be very delicious and melted in my mouth with a cup of coffee. I also really liked them for breakfast the following morning.

Mom definitely turned me into a strawberry bar convert. She got the recipe from Land O'Lakes and the original recipe calls for raspberry preserves (Mom substituted strawberry), but you could use your favorite and I am sure it would be equally good!

Old-World Raspberry Bars
Crumb Mixture:
2 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
1 cup sugar
1 cup chopped pecans
1 cup Land O'Lakes butter, softened
1 egg

Filling:
1 (10 ounce) jar raspberry preserves or your favorite flavor preserves

1. Heat oven to 350 degrees. In large mixer bowl, combine all crumb mixture ingredients. Beat at low speed, scraping bowl often, until mixture is crumbly (2 to 3 minutes). Reserve 1 1/2 cups crumb mixture; set aside.
2. Press remaining crumb mixture on bottom of greased 8- or 9-inch square baking pan. Spread preserves to within 1/2 inch of edge. Crumble reserved crumb mixture over preserves.
3. Bake for 40 to 50 minutes or until lightly browned. Cool completely; cut into bars.

These pack well and would make you the hero of the office if you brought them in to share during a coffee break!