Let’s talk about jam. Jam, jelly, preserves, whatever.
Jam is the foundation of mine and Becca’s friendship. (For those of you who haven’t been following along, Becca and I are currently engaged in a very exciting 12 days of cookies baking extravaganza.)
You see, when we met working at a summer camp near Seattle way back in the summer of 2008, we were equally obsessed with this newfangled marionberry jam. And blueberry coffee cake. And brownies. It was a chubby summer.
For years afterward, Becca and I would mail each other jam a few times each year. Mostly because we’re super cool. Now that I live in the magical land of marionberry jam (a Pacific Northwest specialty), I’m sure to send some Becca’s way every now and then. And when I saw that this blueberry oat bar recipe involved a healthy smattering of jam, I knew I had to include this in our 12 days of cookies.
Unfortunately, this jam obsessed girl assumed she had lots of jam in the fridge to use for this recipe, but it turns out I had a little smidgen of 2 varieties left, so I combined some huckleberry and damson jams (one delivered to me by Becca, all the way from Virginia) for this dessert. It was spectacular. So go wild and mix your jams. I dare ya.
- 2½ cups flour (I used 1¼ cups all-purpose, 1¼ cups whole wheat)
- ⅔ cup sugar
- ½ teaspoon salt
- 1 cup (2 sticks) plus 2 tablespoons unsalted butter, at room temperature, divided
- ½ cup old-fashioned oats
- ¼ cup packed dark brown sugar
- ¾ cup blueberry preserves (I used huckleberry and damson preserves)
- ¾ cup blueberries (I used frozen and thawed berries)
- 1 tablespoon lemon juice
- Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Line a 13x9 baking pan with foil, leaving an overhang on the sides to use to lift the bars out afterward. Spray the foil with nonstick cooking spray.
- Add the flour, sugar, and salt to the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment. Mix briefly on low speed to combine. Cut 2 sticks of butter into pieces and add a little at a time, continuously mixing. When you've finished adding the butter, continue mixing on low speed until the butter has been broken down into small pieces and the mixture resembles wet sand.
- Transfer 1¼ cups of this crust mixture to another bowl and set aside. Dump the remaining crust mixture into the prepared pan and press into an even layer. Bake for about 15 minutes, or until the edges of the crust turn golden brown and it is set.
- While it bakes, make the streusel topping. Add the oats and brown sugar to the bowl with the reserved crust mixture. Stir to combine. Cut the remaining 2 tablespoons of butter into pieces and use your fingers to work the butter into the dry ingredients until combined.
- Make the filling by combining the preserves, blueberries, and lemon juice in a bowl. Use a fork to mash the blueberries a bit.
- When you remove the crust from the oven, add the filling directly on top of the hot crust. Spread in a thin, even layer. Sprinkle the streusel topping over the filling, but don't press it into the filling.
- Bake for 20-25 minutes, or until the filling bubbles and the streusel has browned. Remove the pan to a wire rack and let the bars cool to room temperature, 1-2 hours. Lift the bars from the pan and cut into squares for serving. Store in an airtight container at room temperature.
*recipe from Tracey’s Culinary Adventures
Happy jamming. Also, please go be impressed with Becca’s super fancy chocolate truffles, which I want to eat right now.
-Ally
Becca says
Jam. The basis of all great and wonderful friendships, right? I’m still not sure what damson is. I’m just glad I have a pal who doesn’t mind experimenting with funny named jam.