Raspberry Jam Bars

I love bar cookies. They are the simple no fuss cousins of regular cookies. Mix, dump in pan and bake. So easy. I was so excited to find myself with 2 flats of raspberries last week. I almost never indulge in reaspberries - the short growng season makes them a little too pricey for my budget. But this year our longer than usual sunny streak meant that I got a great deal on these little gems. 

I knew that jam would be in my near future. I followed the same reciped I used for my Strawberry Jam just substituting these berries. It turned out so great - sweet and the color of rubies. I had some left that would not quite fill a jar so I decided to make a batch of Jam Bars. You can use any jam on hand - I love them with apricot also. 

These are really easy to prepare and have a great butttery crust that pairs well with the sweet jam center. These are sure to disappear quickly. 

Raspberry Jam Bars

• 1 1/2 cups all purpose flour
• 1 1/4 cups oats
• 1/3 cup sugar
• 1/3 cup dark brown sugar
• 1/4 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 cup walnuts chopped finely
• 12 tablespoons butter cool room temperature cut into pieces
• 1 cup raspberry jam

Adjust the oven rack to middle position; heat oven to 350 degrees. Line a 9x9 pan with foil allowing edges to hang over for easy removal. Spray foil-lined pan with nonstick cooking spray. 

In a mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, mix flour through nuts on low speed until combined, about 30 seconds. With machine on low, add the butter and mix until fully combined - about 2 minutes. 

Press 2/3 of the crust into the bottom of the pan with your hand until even. Bake for about 20 minutes until crust is brown. Take out of the oven and spread the jam over the warm crust with the back of a spoon. Take remainder of crust and sprinkle it over the jam. Place back in oven and bake for about 30 minutes and golden brown. 

Cool on a wire rack before removing from pan. Cut 1/4 inch of edge off on each side for a neater presentation. Then cut into squares. 

Apricot Jam

Its hot here in Seattle and as much as I would like it about 10 degrees cooler I know my garden needs it and fall is around the corner. So I will not complain. With sun comes stone fruits. My favorite time of year. I still had about 2lbs of apricots left from the box I split with my friend so I decided to make some jam. I got up early before it got warm - sticky jam and a hot house is my kind of nightmare. 

When I was growing up we ate a lot of jam. My mom was an expert PB&J maker. I also love toast and peanut butter and jam on crackers as a snack. Strawberry and raspberry were my favorites as a child. I thought my mom was so weird putting apricot jam on her peanut butter and toast. Weird chunky globs and a more tart than sweet taste. How could that be good. Well times have changed. Some years ago I found that I loved apricot jam. Not sure of the exact moment that happened - but now that tart flavor and hunks of cooked apricots drive me wild. In Paris this breakfast place we went to a few times had the best jam and I think I polished off the whole bread basket myself smeared with their apricot jam. 

I had great success with my strawberry jam this year. I decided to go the route of not adding commercial pectin. The recipes call for more sugar but have a cooked down quality that I love. I went the same route with the apricot and it came out great as well. 

Mr Ramon and I stopped for coffee on his way to work and I picked up a croissant from one of my favorite pastry places Ba Bar. Karen is magical and does things to laminate dough I only dream of. I could not wait to get home and smear this buttery, crispy croissant with my jam. 

Apricot Jam 

• 2 pounds fresh apricots 
• 1/2 cup water
• 6 cups sugar
• 1 tablespoon freshly squeezed lemon juice

Cut the apricots in half and remove the pits. Chop them to your desired size. I like good sized chunks of fruit so I cut them in about 1/2 inch pieces. 

Place the apricots in a very large stockpot, and add the water. Cover the pot and cook, stirring frequently, until the apricots are tender and cooked through. I smash some of the cooking apricots to add more texture to my jam. 

Add the sugar to the apricots and cook, uncovered, skimming off any foam that rises to the surface. Continue to stir frequently to make sure the jam isn’t burning on the bottom.

A lot of people use the chilled plate test. I go right for the candy thermometer. I like to be precise that way. Jam is ready when it hits 220 degrees. 

Once done, stir in the lemon juice and  ladle the jam into clean jars. This jam will store for 6 months in the fridge. Alternatively you can preserve this jam in clean sterilized jars and process in a water bath for 5 minutes to produce a product that lasts for 1 year on the pantry shelves. If you need support in this process you can go to the Ball canning site. 

Enjoy!

Jam on it!

When I think about Southern California and what I miss about living there I can't find much. I love Seattle that much! But my best friend Laura is at the top of the very short list and is the only reason I consider ever going back. But aside from that there are a few things I miss. When it is a cold gray day and I need to take pictures of food and really want natural lighting I miss the sunshine almost every day. Now don't get me wrong. I love gray days - just not when I need to do something that needs light. I also miss the strawberries. California strawberries are the best - huge, juicy - sweet. You can stop on almost any corner and pick up a flat for super cheap. Then it is strawberries with everything. 

Here in the Pacific Northwest we have good strawberries. We really excel at other berries - blackberries, raspberries, blueberries. I think these are grey weather berries. Strawberries need lot of sun. But I need strawberries. So throughout the spring I picked up small containers at my local co-op. These managed to tide me over until now. 

I was headed to Sky Nursery the other day and noticed on their website that they have a local berry farm stand in the parking lot. Yeah!! So exciting. When I walked up to the stand I could smell the strawberry goodness in the warmth of the day. So delicious. I picked up 6 pints for $14. Some of the reddest and juiciest berries I have ever seen grown in Washington. 

I had one thing in mind with these beautiful berries. Jam! I have been making jam with my mom since I was a kid. I even made jam with Laura. We made 200+ jars for her wedding favors some years back. It is a kitchen ritual in my home throughout the year at this point. One I truly enjoy. 

I have made jam with regular pectin, low sugar pectin, no pectin etc. I am open to try any method out there. I came across this recipe on the Canning Across America website. I was unsure what to expect since strawberry jam can be hard to get to set up. Let me tell you though, this jam was so easy to make and so delicious and set up so well. 

It has the fresh berry taste plus sweetness and lemon gives the perfect balance. The color is that of ripe fresh strawberries. I scraped a vanilla bean and added that and the pod to the second batch. Pulled the beans out before putting it in the jars. It added a nice mellow vanilla flavor. 

STRAWBERRY JAM
(makes 4-5 8-ounce jars)

4 cups (tightly packed) organic strawberries
1/2 cup lemon juice
4 cups sugar

1. In a stockpot or a canning kettle, cover 5 clean, 8-ounce canning jars with boiling water. Simmer, covered over low heat to sterilize jars. Place lids and rings in another small pan with water to simmer until ready to seal jars.

2. In a clean, dry 4-quart stockpot or canning kettle over high heat, mash berries with lemon juice. (I used a mason jar to mash them - I don't have a potato masher)

3. When the fruit has come to a full, rolling boil, stir in sugar. Continue stirring until mixture returns to a boil, then stop stirring and insert a candy thermometer.  When the thermometer registers 220 degrees, remove jam from the stove and set aside. 

4. With tongs, lift sterilized jars from their simmering water bath and arrange them right side up on a clean kitchen towel.  Transfer jam to sterilized jars, seal according to manufacturers instructions, and then return jam-filled jars to the boiling water and boil for five minutes.  Allow jars to cool undisturbed for several hours or overnight.  Jam keeps for one year.

I think this is the best jam I have ever made. I think that the 1:1 ratio might be the trick. I am going to try it with another type of fruit. 

I enjoyed some jam and toast the next morning! Delish!