raspberry squares

Lazy day here.  Super sore from boot camp last night and hating and loving it at the same time.  It's my lower back that's sore, which is an odd spot for soreness.  One on hand it feels good to use those muscles, on the other hand you realize just how much you use those lower back muscles for stability in every day activities.

In an attempt to be super productive, I made my contribution to the Halloween party tomorrow night tonight.  Since this was my go-to recipe for quite a while I figured I'd share.  It originally came from some fitness-related magazine, although I can't remember which.

Enjoy!

Raspberry Squares

5 tbs butter, cut in to small pieces
3/4 cup all purpose flour
1/2 cup quick cooking oats
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1 tsp vanilla extract
1/4 cup flaked sweetened coconut
1/2 cup raspberry fruit preserves

Preheat oven to 350.
Coat an 8 inch square baking pan with foil, making sure it overhangs on two sides.  (You will use this overhang later to remove the squares from the pan.)  Spray the foil with cooking spray.
In a food processor, combine butter, flour, oats, sugar, and vanilla.  Process until crumbly.
In a medium bowl, combine 1/2 cup crumb mixture with the coconut; set aside.
Press the remaining crumb mixture into bottom of pan.  In another bowl, which preserves until smooth.  Spread preserves over the crumb mixture in the pan (crust), stopping just short of the edges.
Sprinkle with coconut/crumb mixture.
Bake 25 minutes, or until golden brown.
Cool on wire rack.  Remove from pan with foil and cut into squares.

In case you were wondering, here are the nutritional facts.
Makes 16 servings, 128 calories, 1g protein, 20g carbs, 5g fat, 1g fiber