Fruit Crumble Bars

“These shortbread bars can be filled with apricots, blueberries, or raspberries and are very simple to make. You can cut them into small squares for a party or larger ones for packing into school and work lunches. Use your favorite jam as a filling or feel free to experiment. In our Kimberton Café we use fillings from ripe fruits that are in season.” – Pat Brett, Kimberton Whole Foods Founder 

You can find this recipe in Kimberton Whole Foods Cookbook: A Family History with Recipes, available in all Kimberton Whole Foods stores.

Photo Credit: Seneca Shahara Brand

Makes about 12 bars

What You’ll Need

• 2 cups gluten-free flour mix (I prefer Bob’s Red Mill Gluten Free 1 to 1 Baking Flour or Pamela’s Gluten-Free All-Purpose Flour Artisan Blend)
• 1 cup raw sugar
• ½ teaspoon Himalayan pink salt
• ¾ cup (1 ½ sticks) unsalted butter, cut into 10 to 12 slices
• 1 cup of your favorite preserves

Instructions

Preheat oven to 350 F. Lightly butter the bottom of a 9-by-13-inch rimmed cookie pan or baking dish. Cover bottom of pan or dish with parchment paper. Place flour, sugar and salt in the bowl of a food processor fitted with a metal mixing blade. Process for a few seconds to mix. Add butter and process until mixture becomes crumbly and there are no large chunks of butter remaining.

In a large bowl, add crumb mixture and spread about ¾ of mixture on bottom of pan or baking dish. Use your fingers to press the crumbs down evenly, creating a slightly higher rim at the edges to enable ease in removing the bars after baked. Bake the bottom crust for about 10 minutes, until barely browned around the edges. Remove pan from oven and spread preserves evenly over the top, stopping just shy of the edges. Sprinkle remaining crumbs over the top and return to oven. Bake for another 15 minutes. The preserves will be bubbling and the crust will be light brown. Cool before cutting into squares.