When it’s school holiday time, we seem to eat so much more as a family than we usually do. It’s taken me by surprise how frequently my kids want to eat and with the extra time to spend with them at home, it’s been nice to do a little baking. But I’m no super spontaneous, indie, ‘let’s get creative’ type mum so adventures in this area still need to be simple enough to keep the fun levels high for all of us. This recipe sent in by Emily Yap totally fits the bill, who recommends it for lots of reasons: they’re tasty, cheap, easy to make and all the ingredients are standard pantry items – cause who likes having to make an extra trip to the shops just to do some baking? This recipe, adapted from a blog called The Pioneer Woman Cooks makes 15 squares of yummy-ness and will cost around $4 to bake.

• 200g cold butter, cut into pieces
• 1 1/2 cup all-purpose flour
• 1 1/2 cup oats (quick or regular)
• 1 cup brown sugar, packed firm
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1 x 370g jar of jam of your preference, I used IXL Strawberry Conserve

1. Preheat oven to 180 degrees, then grease and line a 20 x 30 cm lamington tin.
2. Put all the dry ingredients in the bowl of a food processor, blitz for just a moment until everything is just combined.
3. Add chopped butter to the mix and process until mixture resembles crumbs with large/obvious chunks, roughly the size of rice grains. Be careful not to over-process.
4. Divide mixture in half and press one half of the mixture firmly and evenly into the bottom of the lamington tin.
5. Heat the jam in the microwave at 50% for 40 seconds and give it a good stir. Pour gently over the crumb base and use a spoon to spread evenly.
6. Gently tip the rest of the crumb mixture on the top of the jam and spread evenly. Using clean fingers press down as firmly as possible without destabilising the jam.
7. Bake for 20-30 mins until brown on top. Cool in the tin and use a sharp knife to cut into squares.