Loved making these squares. I had to work a little with the recipe but I found that using 1 1/4 cup of sugar worked well when I did not use raisins or coconut. I looked at some of the suggestions about how to maintain a soft layer on top and was able to come up with a suggestion that combined a few ideas. I used a metal pan for making the cakes but bought a few foil pans to put on the top of the pans 10 minutes before taking them out and left them on until they cooled. This created the 'tent' effect in a quick and easy way for me. I also ground the oatmeal and this made the squares very similar to butter tarts. So far they have been a success. With me anyway as I feel I ate a whole pan on my own! This was a fun and easy recipe.