Buttery pastry that does double duty + beautiful jam = sweet happiness in finals week (or any time!)

My house is quiet for a change. I’ve gotten accustomed to turbulence and prefer it. Where did everybody go?! The empty nest filled up and just like the tide, the crowd receded again. I’m never sure if I’m cooking for two or ten, so I shop for plenty, just in case. Imagine my delight when my college junior called for a little meal prep assistance for finals’ week! She has been inundated with projects and presentations and now exams in another not exactly ‘in-person’ (read: super stressful) semester. She lives close enough to home to swing by for dinner any day of the week. Instead, I offered to deliver my care package in the name of her favorite comfort foods: hand-breaded crispy chicken tenders and mashed potatoes, whipped to fluffy goodness with a bit of peel to ensure the real potato effect. For an in between snack or breakfast or dessert, I baked a pan of jam bars which were inspired by a beautiful jar of St. Dalfour black raspberry jam that came home in my oversized grocery run. Toast and jam is nice, but brown butter jam bars are hard to beat! Any care package delivery needs a little sweet treat and these even freeze and ship well! Don’t delay, send a care package today:)

Cut these into little squares for serving or keep in larger slabs to wrap and freeze or ship!

Brown Butter Jam Bars

Not to worry, you don’t need to fuss with the browning of the butter here. It happens magically in the oven when you bake the bars. Use your best and favorite jam here. I used St. Dalfour black raspberry and every taste tester raved! In the past I’ve used a recipe from my trusty Betty Crocker cookie book which uses walnuts and raspberry preserves. I didn’t have any nuts on hand, so I searched for a formula that included almond flour and oats. Here’s my twist on a recipe from the Pioneer Woman.

1 cup unbleached flour
1/2 cup almond flour
1 1/2 cups rolled oats
1 cup packed brown sugar
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon salt
1 cup (2 sticks/8 ounces) unsalted butter, cut into large cubes (cool room temp)
1 jar (10 to 12 ounces) of your favorite jam

HEAT the oven to 350. Line a 13x9x2-inch baking pan with parchment paper*

COMBINE flour, almond flour, oats, brown sugar, baking powder and salt in a large mixing bowl. Toss in the butter cubes and stir with a rubber spatula or clean hands (or the paddle attachment if using a stand mixer) to blend the butter into the dry ingredients with some small clumps remaining. This will make a nice crumble on top of the bars.

SCATTER about two-thirds of the crumbly dough into the prepared baking pan and smash it into an even layer on the bottom of the pan. Spoon the jam in little dollops on top of the dough base and carefully spread it to the edges using the back of the spoon.

SPRINKLE the jam layer with the remaining dough crumbles.

BAKE until your whole house smells amazing! Actually you’ll have to peek in around 25 minutes in. The jam will be bubbling a bit and the edges of the crust will be caramelized brown and the top crumbles will be golden and almost set. Depending on your oven, it could take another 10 minutes for a total of 35. Let them cool in the pan on a rack before cutting and serving and certainly before wrapping and shipping. Using a long edge of the parchment, slide the whole bar onto a cutting board and cut into squares/slabs/shape of your preference. Store in an airtight container for up to a week or well wrapped and frozen for 3 months. Preferably, deliver to your student without hesitation.

Makes about 2 dozen

Happy Cooking!

*Forget about diamonds…parchment paper is a girl’s best friend! To make getting the bars out of the pan a breeze, line it with an oversized sheet of parchment paper. I turn my pan upside down and fold the sheet to the size of the bottom of the pan with some overhang. Flip the pan back over and the sheet fits right in with edges extending above the sides of the pan. Ready for action.