This recipe, more than any other, is tied to my siblings. Shortbread is Dad’s favourite. Mom whispers over my shoulder in almost every cookie recipe I create, but Buttery Oatmeal Squares? This was the recipe that conjures up memories of my sisters and me around the kitchen table. No adults, Just the three of us, unsupervised, with free access to a pan of warm squares.
It came from my great Aunt Bess. It was tasty, but Mom found it infuriating.. No matter what she did, the squares just wouldn’t hold together. They cracked when she cut them and crumbled as she lifted them from the pan. That made Mom mad and me happy.
Mom couldn’t give them away to a bake sale. She couldn’t whisk them off to a meeting or share them with neighbours. They were not worthy of company. But they were perfect for us.
We’d beg. She’d make. And with a resigned shrug, she’d place the pan of still-warm pseudo-squares on the table and hand us all spoons. My sisters and I would dig in, happy to burn the roof of our mouths for a taste of those sweet, buttery oats. We’d scrape our spoons along the bottom of the metal pan, not wanting to miss a scrap.
Mom never bothered to line the pan. What was the use? However, my updated version holds together perfectly. It’s sharable, worthy of neighbours, meetings, and of course, sisters. I even line the pan with parchment for easy removal.
But parchment can be as uncooperative as Aunt Bess’s original recipe. Have no fear. I can fix that. too.
How to Line Any Pan with Parchment
Turn on the kitchen faucet and crumple the parchment into a ball under the gently running water. It will become limp like a wet dishcloth. Unfold the wadded parchment, shake off the excess water, and then press it into your pan and pat it dry with a clean towel. It will look a bit rumpled, but will stay in place. Leave a few inches hanging over the edge of the pan; the excess can be used as handles for easy removal later.
And that’ s it. Three ingredients, a fail-proof recipe, and the cure for ornery parchment.
This is a variation of my Great-Aunt Bess’s recipe, which was sweet and crunchy but fell apart no matter how hard we pressed it into the pan. We used to sit around the table with the pan hot from the oven and dig in with spoons. It didn’t matter that we burned the roofs of our mouths — we couldn’t resist its charms! This version holds together better, thanks to heating the butter and brown sugar. I’m still tempted to eat it right from the pan with a spoon — just for old time’s sake — but there’s no longer a need.
Scale
Ingredients
2 cups (200 g) quick-cooking rolled oats 1⁄2 cup (115 g) salted butter, softened 3⁄4 cup (180 g) packed brown sugar
Instructions
Preheat the oven to 350°F (180°C). Line an 8-inch (20 cm) square metal baking pan with parchment paper.
Place the oats in a medium bowl. Set aside.
In a small saucepan, heat the butter and brown sugar over medium heat, stirring constantly, until boiling. Boil, stirring constantly, for 1 minute. Pour over the oats, stirring to combine.
Press the mixture firmly and evenly into the prepared pan.
Bake on the middle rack of the preheated oven for 20 minutes. The mixture will bubble at the edges.
Let cool in the pan on a wire rack for 15 minutes. Score with a knife into 16 squares. Let cool completely, then remove from the pan, using the parchment liner, and cut along the scored lines.
Notes
Store the squares in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 1 week.
If you don’t have quick-cooking oats on hand, use large-flake (old-fashioned) rolled oats pulsed in a food processor or blender until roughly chopped.
These squares freeze really well. If you want to use them for school snacks, wrap individual squares in plastic wrap, place in a resealable freezer bag, and freeze. Pop individual frozen squares into lunch bags. They’ll be defrosted by snack time.
