I’ve made these before. OK, it was a variation of them, but this is one of my most versatile recipes… use currants, cherries, blueberries or raspberries (I would stay a little away from strawberries because they are too liquidy). While sometimes I make my own jam, this time I was lazy (or “made it easy”) by using store bought. Black currants aren’t exactly in season in Spring in New England!
Ingredients
for the crust and topping
1 cup plus 5 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted and cooled to just warm
1 cup granulated sugar
3/4 teaspoon salt
2 large egg yolks
3 cups plus 3 tablespoons flour
2 cups black currant jam or jelly
Directions
Preheat oven to 325F. Create a foil or parchment sling for your 9×13 inch baking dish or spray generously with baking spray.
In a medium bowl, mix together butter, sugar, salt, and egg yolks with a spoon until smooth. Add in the flour and mix until just combined. Take 2 cups of the crust mixture and press into the lined pan. Set the unused portion of the crust aside covered with plastic wrap, but not in the refrigerator. Place the pan in the freezer for 15 minutes or so; the chilling of the crust prevents it from expanding and rising too much during baking.
Remove the crust from the freezer and place in the oven to bake for 20 minutes, or until the sides are lightly browned. Then remove from the oven, and increase oven temperature to 350F. Spread the black currant jam on top, and sprinkle the left over crust mixture on top. Bake for 25 minutes, or until the streusel is lightly browned.
Allow the pan to cool completely before taking the bars out of the pan. Remove the bars by lifting out with the sling and cut.
