The Best Jam Shortbread Bars are made with butter, brown sugar, flour and your favorite jam. These layered bars are easy to make and are so perfect for a quick and easy dessert to share with family and friends.
Jam Shortbread Bars are made by creaming together butter, light brown sugar and vanilla extract and then slowly adding flour to create a crumble texture. This dough will be the base and the topping of this bar and your favorite jam as the filling. I love playing around with different flavor jams and keeping them festive for the season.
Dessert Bars are really great to serve a crowd and easy to whip up for a last minute treat. I love the ease of pressing the batter into a pan, baking and cutting. If you love these Easy Jam Shortbread Bars, you are sure to love our Peanut Butter and Jelly Bars or our famous Soft and Chewy Chocolate Chip Blondies.
Ingredients
Butter-Unsalted butter at room temperature will make these bars tender and have the perfect crumble.
Sugar-I love the addition of light brown sugar in these dessert bars. The molasses that is naturally in brown sugar adds an extra boost of flavor and keeps them super moist.
Flour-No need for fancy flour, all purpose flour will work great in this recipe and create the perfect texture.
Jam- There is no right answer here! You choose your favorite Jam for these Jam Shortbread Bars. I love to switch the jam flavors out seasonally but I always love a classic raspberry jam, strawberry or apricot.
Step-by-Step Instructions
- In a mixing bowl with paddle attachment, cream together the butter, light brown sugar and vanilla extract until fully combined
- On low speed, slowly add the flour and salt to the butter mixture until it becomes a crumbly texture
- Add ¾ of the shortbread dough to the prepared pan and press down to create a flat and even surface
- Spread the jam on top of the shortbread base and then add the remaining crumble to the top of the jam
- Bake for 25-30 minutes or until the shortbread turns a light golden color
- Remove the Jam Shortbread Bars from the oven and allow them to cool completely before removing them from the pan (refrigerate if you are in a rush)
- Once the bars are cool, remove them from the pan and cut them into the desired shape and size
Tips and FAQS To Make The Best Dessert Bars
Sugar
Using light brown sugar in this recipe really keeps the dough very tender and soft because of the molasses in the brown sugar!
Dough Texture
The dough will be very crumbly and will not fully come together. This is CORRECT! Once you press the dough into the pan it will come together for the base and will still create the perfect crumb topping
How To Store The Bars
These bars can be enjoyed the day you make them, can be store in an airtight container for 5-6 day or can be frozen for up to three months.
The flavor of the jam does not matter, just be sure that is a nice and thick consistency and not to watery of a jam.
Both jam and jelly is made with fruit, the main difference is that a jelly is typically made with a fruit juice and a jam is made with whole fruit and the juice and then mashed.
More Bars You Will Love
Thank you for visiting Joy + Oliver. If you tried this recipe, please leave a 5 Star Review in the recipe card and save all your favorite recipes to Pinterest!
Please visit us on Instagram, Facebook and Pinterest for more of our favorite recipes that you will love!
The Best Jam Shortbread Bars
Ingredients
- 1 Cup Unsalted Butter room temperature
- ½ Cup Light Brown Sugar
- 1 teaspoon Vanilla Extract
- 2 Cups All Purpose Flour
- ¼ teaspoon Salt
- ½ - ¾ Cup Jam Any Flavor
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees F and prepare a 8x8 inch square baking pan with parchment paper
- In a mixing bowl with paddle attachment, cream together the butter, light brown sugar and vanilla extract until fully combined
- On low speed, slowly add the flour and salt to the butter mixture until it becomes a crumbly texture
- Add ¾ of the shortbread dough to the prepared pan and press down to create a flat and even surface
- Spread the jam on top of the shortbread base and then add the remaining crumble to the top of the jam
- Bake for 25-30 minutes or until the shortbread turns a light golden color
- Remove the Jam Shortbread Bars from the oven and allow them to cool completely before removing them from the pan (refrigerate if you are in a rush)
- Once the bars are cool, remove them from the pan and cut them into the desired shape and size
- Serve or store in an airtight container for 4-5 days
Nutrition
Kathie says
I doubled this recipe and used a large bar pan. I don't know if it's because I doubled it but I didn't feel there was enough dough for the top and it wasn't crumbly, so I added about 3/4 cup of flour and 1/3 cup of sugar to stretch the amount and make it more crumbly. That worked well. Delicious buttery taste!
Kristen Massad says
Yes, doubling the recipe can definitely change things a bit, but I am so happy you added a little more crumble and you loved them!
Happy Baking,
Kristen
JMB says
Very easy to make and so delicious. Somebody stop me from polishing the lot off!
Kristen Massad says
Yay! So happy you enjoyed these!
Thanks for sharing,
Kristen
Shellie says
I doubled recipe, and time increased by about 15 min. I suggest parbaking the crust 10 min. if you do this next time, as it is not done as it should be, but still very yummy.
Kristen Massad says
Hi Shellie,
Thank you so much for your feedback! This is a great recipe to double and would definitely need extra baking time and great idea to partake the crust as well for a larger recipe! So happy you enjoyed them:)
Happy Baking,
Kristen
Kristen Massad says
So easy and so fun to make! I love changing out the jam flavors, but our favorite its raspberry!