Between eggs and strawberries, I seem to be drowning in ingredients these days, so I decided to make more jam (subsequent post coming up) and then with “extra” jam (I ran out of jars), I decided to make these crumble bars. They are definitely my go to recipe. This time, I browned the butter first (definitely a great idea) and then added pistachios as well. Perfect for a 4th of July picnic!
Ingredients
1 cup plus 4 tablespoons (2 1/2 sticks) unsalted butter
1 cup granulated sugar
3/4 teaspoon salt
2 large egg yolks
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
3 cups all-purpose flour
2 cups cran-strawberry jam
1/2 cup chopped pistachios, toasted
Directions
Create a foil or parchment sling for your 9 x 11-inch baking pan and spray generously with baking spray.
Melt butter in a medium saucepan. Whisk the melted butter until brown specks appear at the bottom. Watch closely and be careful not to burn. It should be a light brown color and have a nutty aroma. This should take about 5 minutes. Place brown butter in a large heat-proof bowl and whisk in an ice cube. Let cool for another few minutes, then mix in the brown sugar until smooth.
In a medium bowl, mix together flour, sugar, salt, browned butter, egg yolks and vanilla extract with a spoon until smooth. Remove 2 1/2 cups of the crust mixture and press into the lined pan and set aside the remaining, covered with plastic wrap, but not in the refrigerator. Place the pan in the freezer for 30-60 minutes or so; the chilling of the crust prevents it from expanding and rising too much during baking.
Preheat oven to 325F.
Remove the crust from the freezer and place in the oven to bake for 30 minutes, or until the sides are lightly browned. Then remove from the oven, and increase oven temperature to 350F. Spread the strawberry jam on top, and sprinkle the left-over crust and white chocolate chips on top. Bake for 25-30 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.
