So you know how sometimes really crappy weather makes you want to hunker down and hibernate just a little while? Well, it’s April and New England is getting a Nor’Easter (which actually doesn’t mean snow necessarily, just wind direction, but the precipitation is still supposed to be yucky). So the bad weather got me thinking of wanting to be in the tropics, which got me thinking of citrus fruits, so I dug through my bag of tricks and came up with a jar of Guava Jam. Never had a guava? Well, it tastes a lot like oranges and peaches mixed together. Add in some macadamia nuts and voila, tropical inspiration to get over the Spring Stormy blues.
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I seem to be the queen of finding random ingredients, and this week is no different. Have you ever heard of Banana JAM? I had no idea that you could make jam out of bananas, but you can and it’s pretty darn good. I had to buy a jar when I saw it in the shops and decided to make these here Monkey Pie Bars — Banana Coconut Crumble Bars. Amazingly rich banana flavor and toasted coconut. Perfect “tropical” flavors to warm up this cold March morning.
Do you like apple crumble? How about pecan pie? Always on the go and eating stuff “out of hand” instead of with a plate and fork? Then these Apple Pecan Crumble Bars are the thing for you! Cookie-sized crumble bars with apple fruit preserves and chopped pecans. It’s all of you autumn snacking needs rolled into one!
Mirabelle plums are one of my favorite fruits, but they are actually quite difficult to come by in the US. They are very small (in some cases, not much larger than a cherry) and have a fairly short shelf life. They are also a trademark yellow. I made do this time by finding similar small plum (a little smaller than a golf ball) but I had some mirabelle jam, which I put under the fresh plums on these crumble bars. They are quite juicy, a little tart and very yummy.
When in doubt, make crumble bars, Kat says. Yes, I made more crumble bars. They are a great summer dessert or snack, come together in a flash and this time, I had some red current jelly to add from when I went picking last week, plus passion fruit jam. Have you ever had passion fruit jam? It’s sooooo yummy.