jammy almond crumb bars

we live 

in the country

not the county of estates and tag sales

but the country

of 

pastures and dairy sheep

so when

someone stops by

we wave them in

take their coat

and 

sit them down with a

hot cup of coffee and a sweet

these bars are a twist on the common crumble bar

i use whatever jam i have on hand

{usually something not too sweet loaded with bits of fruit}

the twist comes in the form of almond paste

it finds its way into these cookies

at every bite

jammy almond crumb bars

(printable recipe)

2 sticks unsalted butter--room temperature

3/4 cup granulated sugar

7 oz almond paste (divided)

2 1/2 cups all purpose flour

1/2 tsp kosher salt

3/4 cup high quality-not too sweet jam (ollalaberry, raspberry, blackberry, fruits of the forest, etc)

1/4 cup toasted pistachio nuts

place sugar, flour and 1/3 of the almond paste in a bowl.  by hand, work in the almond paste so that it is in small bits throughout the flour.  Add the butter and work by hand until you get a crumble that will stick when pressed together.

press about 2/3 of the dough into the bottom and up the sides of  a 9"x9"  fluted tart pan*. take remaining almond paste and lightly press a thin layer on top of the crust.  you may not use all of the paste. spread evenly with jam.  

Mix the pistachio nuts in with remaining dough.  Evenly distribute remaining dough by crumbling on top of jam.  (i like a thick layer of topping)

Bake at 350 for approximately 40-45 minutes. you want the crust and crumble to be slightly colored, but not over-browned.

*if you do not have a fluted tart pan, this works fine in a standard 9x9 cake pan, just be sure to bring the crust 1/4-1/2"  up the sides.

browned butter berry bars {in the sweet kitchen}

this weekend past

we took a long drive

with no real agenda

except to explore

as we drove north

i began to obsess

a cookbook was given to me about a year ago

called

big sur bakery

while getting lost in its pages

i fell in love with the place

and began imagining each bite

while big sur is coastal

and

 we were on an inland route

a little jot west, wasn't too far off course

{it wasn't like we had anywhere to be}

so

an hour, and ten white knuckles later

we arrived in big sur

unfortunately

the bakery was hosting a wedding

which meant

it was closed

double dip dang-nabbit ugh

instead

we stopped at a half bad restaurant

for nourishment

not enjoyment

planning our return

and

when we got home

promptly made these

which are a variation of the brown butter rhubarb bars

from

the big sur bakery cookbook

using

berries we picked that morning

brown butter berry bars

(adapted from the big sur bakery cookbook)

 jam

2 cups blackberries and mulberries {or berries of your choice}

juice of 1/2 lemon

1 cup sugar

place all ingredients in a heavy bottomed saucepan.  cook on low heat until it begins to bubble and thicken.  watch closely and cook until it is thick and jammy. set aside to cool

crust

1 cup unsalted butter--melted

1/2 cup powdered sugar

1/2 tsp kosher salt

1 1/2 cups flour{whole wheat or all-purpose}

whisk together the flour, powdered sugar and salt.  stir in butter.  press into a 9"x 13" pan.  bake in a 375^ oven until it just begins to brown(15-18 minutes).  remove from oven and allow to cool.

brown butter filling

3 large eggs

 1 1/4 cup sugar

1/2 tsp salt

grated zest of 1 lemon

juice of 1/2 lemon

1/2 cup + 2 Tbs unsalted butter

3/4 cup + 2 Tbs flour {whole wheat or all purpose}

1 teaspoon vanilla

place the butter in a saucepan and cook on low heat until it becomes brown and nutty, careful not to burn.  whisk together the eggs, sugar, salt, lemon zest, lemon juice, flour and vanilla.  carefully stir in the browned butter.

to assemble

spread about half of the browned butter mixture on the prepared crust.  dollop about 3/4 of the jam on top.  spread the remaining browned butter filling and then dollop the remaining jam.  bake for about 25 to 30 minutes, until the edges just begin to turn brown.  do not overbake, (allowing the filling to souffle). allow to cool before cutting into bars. 

delicious room temperature or directly from refrigerator.

blueberry-rhubarb margarita jam

weekly

i drive past a blueberry farm

most days

wishing for the season

some days

mourning the end of summer

the day the

open sign pops up

on our little stretch of highway

i stop in

continuing my routine

each week

until blueberries are no more

i hoard

more berries than our small family can eat, out of hand

but not more than we can eat, prepared

i love to pair sweet blueberries with rhubarb from our garden

for this delicious

not too sweet

jam

 blueberry rhubarb margarita jam

3 pints blueberries

8 oz rhubarb--chopped

2 cups granulated sugar

juice of 10 key limes

1/2 tsp kosher salt

1/4 tsp ginger

juice of 1/2 grapefruit (plus/minus)

1 oz tequila (can add up to 2 oz)

dump blueberries rhubarb, sugar, key lime juice, salt and ginger into your jam pot.  Cook on med-low heat, stirring occasionally, until you have a nice jam consistency (about 25-30 minutes).  taste for sweetness.  add at least 1/4 grapefruit juice to both adjust sweetness and for flavor.  cook for 5 more minutes and check again for sweetness. add more grapefruit if desired. pour in tequila and cook at least 5 minutes more.

test jam for firmness on a frozen plate. **i like my jam to be a bit runny.  you do not need pectin for this jam to firm up.  you can cook it to come out firmer, but be careful not to caramelize it.

place in sterilized jars and refrigerate or if you are a seasoned canner, process for longer storage.

boozy kumquat marmalade

it is 

a thousand degrees

in my kitchen

so warm

i keep the lights off

somehow believing

darkness=cool

not. really. working

yesterday

hubster and i

did a drive by pick off

you see

the day before

we were at my brother's new home

and i noticed

a line of

kumquat trees

my brother

didn't know what they were

so i figured

he wouldn't mind

if i took 

a handful or 10

yesterday

while he was at work

we helped ourselves

today

i didn't feel much like

hovering over the hob

stirring 

&

canning

which led to

a small batch

3 jars of jam

one for us

one for him

and

one for pouring over vanilla ice cream

no canning required

with a sweet as honey peel

and

puckering sour flesh

kumquats make a perfect marmalade

add a splash of booze

and 

it becomes an adult only

morning treat

boozy kumquat marmalade

3 cups finely slice kumquats (pits removed)

1 cup granulated sugar

1 generous shot tequila

pinch of kosher salt

place all ingredients in a glass or ceramic bowl and let steep for about an hour.  dump into a heavy-bottom pot and cook over medium heat. let simmer until it becomes jammy..about 20 minutes. stir occasionally and watch it closely. you do not want it to become like sticky candy.  pour into sterilized jam jars and allow to come to room temperature.  store in the refrigerator.