Simple. Traditional. Fruity. In this recipe, we'll be creating a shortbread base, topped with summer berry jam and finished with a shortbread crumble top. Using just one shortbread dough, with the option of making your own jam, you'll have this recipe finished and ready to eat in no time flat!
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Jammy Shortbread Bars
SIMPLE.
TRADITIONAL.
FRUITY
SIMPLE.TRADITIONAL.FRUITY
Chances are, you’ve made shortbread before, and you’ll certainly have eaten it! Either way, it’s pretty common knowledge that shortbread is one of the easiest things you can bake, requiring just a few ingredients and minimal baking skills! With that in mind, how would you feel about creating shortbread that’s even more delicious, looks more impressive, but is no more difficult to make than the traditional kind? Yep, I thought so too!
In this recipe, we’ll be creating a shortbread base, topped with summer berry jam and finished with a shortbread crumble top. Using just one shortbread dough, with the option of making your own jam, you’ll have this recipe finished and ready to eat in no time flat!
In a hurry? Then here’s your recipe!
If you like to see some more tips and tricks, then scroll away for a bit of light reading!
Jammy Shortbread Bars
Course: SnacksCuisine: BiscuitDifficulty: Super Simple!Servings
16
servingsPrep time
45
minutesBaking time
50
minutesCooling Time
30
minsIf you'd like a classic biscuit recipe that you can pretty much throw together, while still looking impressive, this is the recipe for you! I can pretty much guarantee that this recipe will work for you regardless of how much baking experience you have, so why not give it a try?!
Ingredients
250g unsalted butter, softened
125g caster sugar
1/2 tsp vanilla extract
300g gluten-free plain flour
75g cornflour
1/2 tsp xanthan gum
Pinch of salt
- For the jam (optional):
350g frozen summer berries
175g jam sugar
- To assemble:
150g of your jam
- Equipment:
1x 8-inch square cake tin
Directions
- For the jam:
- Place the berries and jam sugar in a small saucepan over a low heat, stirring occasionally until the fruit has broken down completely. You could help break down the fruit with a potato masher or wooden spoon to extract more of the juice.
- Strain the contents of the pan into a heatproof bowl to remove the seeds and larger berry pieces, then pour the strained liquid into a clean pan over a low heat.
- Heat the liquid until it reaches 104C, then pour it into a heatproof bowl. Alternatively, if you don't have a thermometer available, chill a plate in the fridge for 5-10mins, then once the jam has been noticeably reduced, spoon a small amount onto the plate and set aside for 1-2 minutes. If the jam sets and forms a crinkle on the top when a finger is gently pushed through it, pour the contents of the pan into a heatproof bowl. Otherwise continue cooking the jam for 2-3 more minutes and retest.
- Allow the jam to cool slightly before placing it in the fridge to set.
- For the shortbread dough:
- In a large mixing bowl, lightly beat together the butter and sugar until smoothly combined.
- Stir the vanilla extract into the butter/sugar mixture until fully combined.
- Sift the flour, cornflour, xanthan gum and salt into the mixing bowl and stir through until a smooth dough is formed. You may need to use your hands to finish bringing the dough together.
- Assembly:
- Grease and line your 8" square cake tin with baking paper.
- Add 2/3 of your dough to the tin and push it down into a uniform layer covering the bottom of the tin.
- Use a fork to prick holes evenly into the biscuit. This will help prevent it from puffing up in the oven.
- Spread the jam in a uniform layer to cover this dough.
- Break up the remaining dough into little balls and place them onto the jam, trying to cover as much of the jam layer as possible.
- Place your creation in the fridge to chill for at least 30 mins, at which point the dough should feel fairly firm to the touch. During this time, preheat your oven to 170C / 150C fan / Gas Mark 3.
- Baking:
- Place the tin in the oven for 50 - 60 mins, or until the top of the shortbread is a very pale golden brown.
- Allow the biscuit to cool completely in the tin.
- Once cooled, use a sharp knife to cut the biscuit into quarters. Then, cut each quarter into quarters to create 16 square pieces of shortbread!
Sliced and diced!
If you'd like to avoid a fight among your friends and family, you may want to make sure you cut each shortbread piece as equally as possible! However, gluten-free bakes can be notoriously crumbly due to the lack of gluten binding the bake together, so you may find that cutting these neatly and evenly is easier said than done! If you think that your biscuit slab may be too fragile to cut, then pop it in the fridge for 15-20 minutes to chill and firm up a little before cutting.
Once removed from the fridge, use a large, sharp knife and cut the biscuits using a singular slicing motions, rather than sawing back and forth to minimize the amount of crumblage!
I hope you’ll give these a try and love the results! If you have any questions, feel free to ask below!
Also, if you’re social media savvy, tag me on Instagram at @toofarfletched with your creations!
-Tom 
Comments
Tom
Hi! Thanks for stopping by!
I set up this site to share with you everything I love about baking, so hopefully there’ll be something here you enjoy too!
If you’d like to get in touch, feel free to use the links below!
I set up this site to share with you everything I love about baking, so hopefully there’ll be something here you enjoy too!
If you’d like to get in touch, feel free to use the links below!
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