This fruit bar gets even more tasty on day two and three. They are heavenly (in spite of my emergency substitution in the almond department). I hope you try them, you will love the crumbly, buttery, sweet, nutty crust (it has just a hint of cinnamon). This recipe is a keeper.
1½ cups all purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 cup light brown sugar packed (I use dark brown sugar)
1/4 cup granulated sugar
1 large egg yolk
3/4 cup sliced almonds (I used walnuts)
1/2 cup of your favorite fruit jam (I used an extra 2 tablespoons)
1 teaspoon vanilla extract (my addition)
Preheat your oven to 350 and butter an 8" square baking dish (I didn't butter the pan, instead I lined it with parchment paper and left the ends long so that I could easily lift out the whole square after it cooled...easier to cut that way).
Whisk together the flour, cinnamon, salt and baking powder, set aside.
Cream the butter and sugars on high speed until they are light and fluffy; beat in the egg yolk and vanilla extract. Reduce mixer speed to low and gradually add the flour mixture.
Stir in the nuts. Note: I used walnuts instead of almonds and I used my food processor to chop them fairly small.
Gently press half of this mixture, evenly, into your prepared baking dish. Stir the jam (I used raspberry) with a spoon to loosen it up and gently spread it onto the bottom half of the bars, leaving a 1/4" jam free border so that the jam doesn't stick to the sides of the pan when baked.
Top the jam layer with the rest of the flour-nut mixture ad spread evenly, pressing lightly to make the layers stick to each other.
Bake for 25 to 35 minutes (my oven took 35 minutes) or until the top is golden.
IMPORTANT: Cool completely before you try to remove these bars from the pan. Cut bars with serrated knife.SEE VIDEO TUTORIAL >>
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