Recipe: Jam Bar July — The Californian

I have to be honest and tell you that this past week was crazy, and I didn’t have a lot of time to come up with a new jam bar recipe. Jam Bar July was Graham’s idea and he sweetly proposed it while we were on vacation in Italy, so of course I agreed! (Have you seen his dimples when he smiles?!) He wanted to create some cool lettering and eat jam bars (he loves jam bars). But the truth is, creating original recipes is challenging. And writing, testing, and photographing one original recipe per week could be a full-time job. This week, in the midst of all the craziness, I decided to make a quick, simple jam bar using whatever we happened to have in our fridge and pantry. The result is perhaps the most personal of all the jam bars—it has our favorite flavors and ingredients: sunny apricot jam, sweet-tart lemon, buttery almond flour, and bright green pistachios. We’re calling it The Californian, and we photographed it in the park near our apartment. I think you’re really going to love this one.

The Californian: Apricot Jam Bar with Pistachio Streusel 

Makes 9 squares

1 cup/125g all-purpose flour

1 cup/100g almond flour

¼ tsp fine sea salt

½ cup/115g unsalted butter, at room temperature, plus more for the pan

1/3 cup/65g sugar

1 lemon

1 cup/320g apricot jam

¼ cup/35g pistachios, finely chopped

Preheat the oven to 350°F. Butter an 8-inch square baking dish.

In a large bowl, mix together the all-purpose flour, almond flour, and salt.

In another large bowl, use a wooden spoon to beat the butter, sugar, and the finely grated zest of the lemon until creamy and lightened in color, about 3 minutes. (Alternatively, you can use a stand mixer and beat with the paddle attachment on medium-high speed.) Add the flour mixture and mix slowly until incorporated.

Press about two-thirds of the dough into an even layer across the bottom of the prepared baking dish. Stir a squeeze of lemon juice into the jam, then spread the jam over the bottom dough layer. Mix the chopped pistachios into the remaining dough, using your fingers to break the dough into crumbly bits. Scatter over the jam. Bake until golden brown, about 40 minutes.

Let cool, cut into 9 squares, and serve.