Oatmeal Jammy Bars
Makes 10 bars
These delicious jammy bars get most of their sweetness from the jam filling. The crumbly pastry, with its oatmeal and nut crunch, is reminiscent of a crumble topping. If you like your bars sweeter, add an additional ½ cup (5 oz/155 g) jam. Let the kids mix the crumbly dough and assemble the bars. After making them, they will likely insist on bringing them to school in their lunchbox-a healthy and yummy snack.
Ingredients:
- 1½ cups (7½ oz/235 g)
- all-purpose (plain) flour
- ½ cup (3½ oz/105 g) firmly packed golden brown sugar
- 1 teaspoon kosher salt
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- ¼ teaspoon baking soda (bicarbonate of soda)
- ¾ cup (6 oz/185 g) cold unsalted butter, cut into cubes
- 1¼ cups (3¾ oz/115 g) old-fashioned rolled oats
- ¼ cup (1 oz/30 g) ground pecans or almonds (optional)
- ½ cup (5 oz/155 g)
- berry jam, homemade (page 102) or store-bought
- Preheat the oven to 350°F (180°C). Butter a 9-inch (23-cm) square baking pan or dish.
In a large bowl, stir together the flour, sugar, salt, baking powder, and baking soda, using your hands to combine thoroughly. Scatter the butter pieces over the flour mixture and cut in the butter with a pastry cutter or two kitchen knives until the mixture is moist and crumbly. Add the oats and nuts, if using, and toss to mix evenly.
- Press two-thirds of the dough into the bottom of the prepared pan. Spread the jam evenly over the top. Crumble the remaining dough evenly over the top, and press down lightly.
- Bake until the top is golden brown, 35-40 minutes. Let cool completely on a rack, and then cut into bars.
For Maria Helm Sinskey -- author, award-winning chef, and mother -- one of the best ways to spend time with family and friends is to gather in the kitchen to cook. Whether tossing a salad of lettuces fresh from the garden, or filling the house with the scent of Banana-Brown Sugar Muffins and hearty Braised Beef Stew, Maria and her family show you how effortless it is to have fun in the kitchen. Filled with delicious, easy to prepare, made-from-scratch recipes such as Fresh Rosemary Focaccia, Corn Fritters with Lime, Chicken-Coconut Curry, and Baked Butterscotch Puddings, Williams-Sonoma Family Meals is written for people of all ages.
Maria's experience with her own children and those of friends and family prove that when kids help select ingredients and join in the fun of meal preparation, they're more eager to eat what they've cooked, and revel in their culinary triumphs at the table. Williams-Sonoma Family Meals is much more than just a collection of recipes. Each chapter sparks curiosity about where food comes from and how the foods we love are made through culinary projects such as curing bacon, smoking salmon, and making homemade ricotta cheese.
This book is sure to become a staple in your kitchen, and will launch the small to the tall on a delicious culinary journey filled with fresh, wholesome, seasonal meals that are a joy to create and satisfying to eat.
