Meyer Lemon Jam Bars
Inspiration.
It comes from the strangest places.
Last weekend, I got invited to attend Salt Spring in the City, a kind of trade show at Heritage Hall, where artisans from Salt Spring Island brought their wares to Vancouver. There was wine, there was cider, there were some super cute crafty things. And there was lots of food, including cheese, smoked salmon and the Salt Spring Kitchen Co, who make small-batch preserves.
I came home with some stuff, including a jar of this Meyer Lemon and Lavender Jam. Of course, I’m never content to just, you know… eat something. I have to do something with it. So I thought I’d bake it up into some dessert.
I adapted this recipe from Kitchen Confidante. I really like this recipe–it was a snap to make, first of all. I also, because I didn’t want to be tempted to eat the entire pan myself, brought them to my class the night I made them and got them to be guinea pigs. Thumbs up all around–this recipe was immediately pronounced to be “blog worthy.”
Watch me demonstrating how to make these bars in this video:
Meyer Lemon Jam Bars
- Ingredients for the base:
- 1 cup AP flour
- ½ cup brown sugar½
- teaspoon baking powder
- 1/8 teaspoon kosher salt
- ½ cup cold butter, cut into small pieces
- 1 egg yolk
- 1teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1 tsp grated lemon zest
- For the topping: 1 jar Salt Spring Kitchen Co Meyer Lemon and Lavender Jam (or you can use any kind of jam you have on hand–about 1 cup)
- For the struesel topping:
¼ cup flour - ¼ cup brown sugar, plus extra for sprinkling
- 2 tbsp cold butter, cut in cubes
- 2 tbsp oats
- ¼ teaspoon cinnamon
Method:
- In the bowl of your food processor, add all the dry ingredients, then add the butter and start by pulsing until the mixture resembles coarse crumbs. Now add the egg yolk, vanilla and lemon zest, and this time blitz it, first starting slowly, then picking up speed. You want the final mix to be integrated and stick together easily.
- Press into an 8″ x 8″ baking pan that you have lined with parchment so that it forms an even layer. Now spread the jam in an even layer on top of that.
- Return the bowl to the food processor, and throw in all the ingredients for the strudel topping. Pulse until it looks like coarse crumbs, and then sprinkle it in an even layer on top of the jam layer.
- Bake in a 375 degree oven for about 30 minutes, or until the top is golden brown. Allow to cool, then cut and serve.