Plum Bars
makes about 24 bars
Recipe from Lara Ferroni
The bars themselves are really simple -- just a quick shortbread that gets cooked off before the jam goes on, and then cooked again with a grated shortbread topping. The resulting cookies are rich like shortbread, but lighter and more moist.
Read more about this recipe at Cook & Eat.
ingredients
1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter
1 cup caster sugar
2 egg yolks
2 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 t salt
1 1/4 cup plum preserves (or preserves of your choice)
timer
prep: 40 minutes
total: 1 hour 40 minutes
tools
mixer
spatula
10 x 10-inch (or 9 x 13-inch), 1-inch-deep tart pan
grater
instructions
1. Preheat the oven to 350F.
2. Beat together the butter and sugar until it is fluffy and pale (use the flat beater attachment if you have one).
3. Add the egg yolks one at a time, and then push down the batter from the sides with a spatula.
4. Mix in the flour and salt. The dough should get pretty thick at this point.
5. Place about 2/3 of the dough in the tart pan. Use your fingertips to spread the dough evenly, getting into the corners of the pan. (It should be less than 1/2-inch thick.)
6. Wrap up the remaining dough, and place it in the freezer.
7. Bake for 30 minutes, or until it turns a light golden brown.
8. Remove from the oven, and spread with preserves, avoiding the edges.
9. Remove the remaining dough from the freezer, and using the large holes on a cheese grater, grate it, and sprinkle evenly over the preserves, all the way to the edge.
10. Bake for another 25 to 30 minutes, or until the topping is golden brown.
11. Remove from the oven, and let cool for at least one hour before cutting. Slice into little rectangles or squares.
