Recipe: Martha Stewart's Jam Crumb Bars

Have you ever smelled a recipe while you were putting all the ingredients together and knew how wonderful it was going to be?  I could've eaten the dough on these bars raw because the scent was so delicious and tempting with the mix of butter and ground almonds.

These beautiful bars have a shortbread bottom, oooey gooey jam centre, and a lovely crumb topping.  They were quick and easy to prepare but not inexpensive.  A bag of whole almonds isn't cheap and the entire jar of jam wasn't either.  Oh, but it was worth every penny for this treat. 

The Jam Crumb Bars were made for a MOMS Club event and everyone loved them. There was enough for some to take home too, which they all did!

JAM CRUMB BARS

from Martha Stewart's Baking Handbook

3 sticks (1 1/2 cups) unsalted butter, room temperature, cut into pieces, plus more for pan

2 1/4 cups (11 ounces) blanched almonds, very finely ground

3 cups all-purpose flour

1 1/4 cups sugar

1/2 teaspoon salt

1 3/4 cups raspberry, apricot or strawberry jam

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Butter a 15 x 10" rimmed baking sheet.  Line with parchment paper, leaving a 1" overhang on the long sides.  Set aside.

In a large bowl, whisk together ground almonds, flour, sugar, and salt.  Cut in the butter with a pastry blender until the mixture resembles coarse crumbs.  Using your fingers, squeeze the mixture together to create pea-sized crumbs witha  few larger crumbs (smells good, eh?).

Transfer half of crumb mixture (about 4 1/2 cups) to prepared baking sheet; set aside remining mixture.  Cover with a sheet of parchment paper.  Using the bak of a large spoon, press dough evenly into pan, lifting the parchment occasionally to ensure it doesn't stick.  With a wine bottle or small rolling pin, roll along the length of the pan to smooth dough.  Dough should be firmly packed, with no holes or cracks.  Bake, roating the pan halfway through, until lightly golden all over, 15 to 20 minutes.  Transfer pan to a wire rack to cool completely (I had to skip this step and it was okay). 

Evenly spread jam over cooled crust.  Scatter with remaining crumb mixture, squeezing some of the mixture so that large clumps are visible and evenly distributed over the top of the jam.  Bake, rotating the pan halfway through, until the topping begins to turn light golden brown (the hame should not be too dark), 20 to 22 minutes.  Transfer pan to a wire rack to cool completely.

Run a knife around the edges of the pan to loosen; using two wide spatulas, transfer to a cutting board and cut into 3 x 2" bars.  Bars can be kept in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 4 days.

Printable Recipe

Here are some other bars you may enjoy.  Perfect to pack in lunches!
Toffee Bars
Homemade Granola Bars
Applesauce and Oatmeal Bars
Peanut Butter and Jelly Bars
Chocolate Chip & Pretzle Cookie Bars
Lemon Bars


Enjoy!

Peoples by Celia Green and Don Cornelius




I purchased this book from a Thrift Store.