Buttery sweet shortbread bars with a layer of tart blueberry rhubarb jam in between.
Buttery sweet shortbread bars with a layer of tart blueberry rhubarb jam in between.
This recipe is inspired by two of my favorites: some raspberry shortbread bars from joy of baking (I made those once in college and they left a mark on everyone) and Ina’s blueberry rhubarb jam. You’ll notice lots of changes: I use a combination of sugars for the shortbread, finding this gives them more of that traditional shortbread texture, I upped the salt and advise lemon zest to give them more flavor. For the jam, I do without the apple (I didn’t want the taste of apple coming through into the jam so it would be pure blueberry and rhubarb) and use tapioca starch as a thickener, which is more suitable for bars.
Rhubarb: About four stalks if you are making the full amount of jam (you only need half for the recipe, the rest keeps well in the fridge.) It’s okay if they are a bit soft, be sure to cut off the ends. Color doesn’t matter, rhubarb whether green or red tastes the same.
Blueberries: Fresh or frozen is fine, but make sure there’s not too much ice buildup on them if frozen. And if fresh, get ones that taste good! A lot of out of season berries are quite bitter and that will come through in the bars.
Tapioca starch: A thickener that will make the jam cohesive and silky. I keep this on hand more often than cornstarch (it has no chalky taste and will keep the filling clear rather than cloudy) but you can use cornstarch if that’s what you have.
Lemon: Zest for the shortbread and the juice will go into the jam, helps give the shortbread a sweet flavor and brings out the rhubarb taste in the jam.
All-Purpose Flour: Any all purpose will do. If you want to make these gluten-free, use a 1-to-1 substitute.
Butter: Softened and unsalted; the former so that it will blend well into the shortbread, the later so that we can control the amount of salt.
Fine Sea Salt: if using table salt, reduce by half the amount.
Powdered Sugar: If organic (which I tend to prefer, esp that with tapioca instead of cornstarch), be sure to sift it.
First, the jam:
Everything into a pot (be sure to dice the rhubarb so it cooks with the blueberries) and cook on low until the fruits are completely soft and the mixture is thick, at least 30 minutes.
Second, the shortbread:
Everything into a stand mixer (or bowl, and use a hand mixer) and blend until the dough is mostly cohesive.
Layer & bake:
Most of the shortbread goes into the bottom of the pan. Make sure the pan is well-prepared with two sheets of parchment paper to make a + so that you have overhang on all sides (this will make lifting the bars out much easier).
Press ⅔ of the shortbread into the pan, pack it in as best you can, using the bottom of a measuring cup (dust it with flour or powdered sugar so the dough doesn’t stick to it) or an offset spatula to even out the layer.
Then spread the jam – if you’ve made half the jam, spread all of it. If you made the full recipe below, spread half.
Lastly, the remaining shortbread: with this just drop small pinches of the dough on top, spreading them out so they are all over the jam.
Bake the bars: doneness is a little difficult with these but keep an eye on the top shortbread layer, once it begins to brown the bars are almost done.
Let them cool. These slice miraculously easily, even at room temperature.
Yes, for months! Keep them in an airtight container.
I think pomegranate would be a great substitute as it’s got the same tart taste. However, the bars will have a lot more seeds! Pomegranate seeds are edible of course but if you don’t like the idea of a seedy jam perhaps use raspberries instead.
Yep, use dairy-free butter. No other adjustments necessary.
Yes! The jam recipe can be kept as is (I intentionally make a double batch so I can have some actual jam on hand afterwards!) but the shortbread recipe will need to be doubled. Bake it in a 13×9 cake sheet pan and extend baking time by at least 10 minutes but judge doneness by how the bars look. The shortbread bits on top are a good indicator of doneness; when they turn golden the bars probably done.
A delicious suggestion: If you’d like to add a lovely note of lemon to the shortbread, zest the lemon you’ll juice for the jam into the granulated sugar. Kept in an airtight container, it can wait in the fridge overnight before you make the dough.
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These bars were excellent! I was hesitant to try just any online recipe, since I was using the last of my (gifted) homegrown rhubarb and wild Alaskan blueberries I’d picked. But these turned out sublime without any alterations! The double jam recipe was great for later baking as well. Excellent recipe, Sam!
This was a huge hit! I was looking for an alternative to strawberries and rhubarb when I came across your recipe. Having just had a case of farm fresh blueberries delivered and a an abundant crop of rhubarb in the our garden, this was ideal. I followed the recipe exactly aside from following another commenter’s suggestion to 1.5 the shortbread recipe for 9 x 13 pan. It was a huge hit from our 4 & 8 year old kiddos to their 70 year old grandparents staying with us! Everyone had seconds and a request to make this again, has already been made – LOL. Thank you for sharing this recipe! The bonus is that this was an easy recipe to make, especially if you make the fruit compote ahead of time.
Melissa, I’m so glad you all enjoyed them and thank you for the review! How perfect that you had farm fresh blueberries and rhubarb in the garden 😀
Don’t know if this counts as cheating…but coming back once more to state how good these bars are- seriously! Made them this weekend with fresh blueberries (a few strawberries) and rhubarb. Just as delightful as they were last year!
Had a ton of rhubarb from my mom’s garden to use up. Made 1.5x the shortbread recipe and used all of the blueberry rhubarb jam and baked in 9×13 dish and it turned out perfectly. Love the combo of blueberries and rhubarb! SO easy to whip up and are so delicious. These were a hit even with my rhubarb-hating husband who said these were the best things I’d made in awhile!
Oh wow that is high praise for someone who doesn’t like rhubarb! Thanks for the review Riley 😀
How are there not already 50 rave reviews for this recipe?!? The balance between ease and flavor is unreal. The jam takes a few moments, but honestly you can go about your own business and just stir from time to time and then the shortbread is the simplest ever. The flavor profile is perfectly balanced: rich, slightly tart, nuttiness and fresh sweetness from the blueberries. This will be my new go-to for anytime I have rhubarb! Thanks Sam for a fantastic treat!
Hannah thank you for such a glowing review! I admit I was quite sad when this didn’t get any traction when I first posted it months ago but this makes up for it :p