Recipe: Jam Bar July — The Party Girl
I made a JUMBO pop tart! For the fourth and final week of Jam Bar July, we’re going out with a fun bang! Sometimes re-creating a favorite treat from childhood can take you all weekend, but this one is simple enough for a weeknight. Use any kind of jam for the filling—I chose cherry, but only because Graham loves cherry. Thank you for following along and I hope there are many jam bars in your future! xoxo
The Party Girl: Cherry Jam Pop Tart Bar
Makes one 12 by 7-inch pop tart bar
3 cups/375g all-purpose flour, plus more for rolling
¾ cup/150g granulated sugar
¾ tsp fine sea salt
¾ cup/170g unsalted butter, chilled and cut into pieces
3 Tbsp ice water, plus more as needed
2 large eggs
1 cup/240g cherry jam
1 ½ cups/190g confectioners’ sugar
2 Tbsp lemon juice
Rainbow sprinkles
In a large bowl, combine the flour, granulated sugar, and salt. Add the butter and use your hands to rub it into the flour mixture until there are no butter pieces larger than a pea. In a small bowl, stir together the ice water, 1 of the eggs, and 1 egg yolk (reserve the egg white). Add the egg-water to the flour mixture and mix to incorporate. Gather the dough into a ball. (If the dough is too crumbly, add more ice water, 1 tsp at a time, until it just comes together.) Divide the dough into 2 equal pieces, wrap each piece in plastic, and refrigerate for at least 1 hour and up to 1 day.
Preheat the oven to 375°F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
On a floured surface, roll out one piece of dough to a 12 by 7-inch rectangle about ¼ inch thick. (It’s okay to trim raggedy edges and press them into sparse corners in order to create a rectangle; just make sure there aren’t gaps or any deep cracks in the dough.) Transfer the dough rectangle to the prepared baking sheet. Roll out the other piece of dough to a 12 by 7-inch rectangle about ¼ inch thick. Spread the cherry jam evenly over the dough on the baking sheet, leaving bare a 1-inch border. Place the second piece of dough over the jam and line up the sides neatly. Use a fork to crimp the edges, sealing the top and bottom crusts around the jam. Stir the reserved egg white with a fork until foamy, then brush it on the top surface to create a glossy sheen. Bake until the crust is golden brown, 30 to 35 minutes.
Let the tart cool completely on the baking sheet.
In a medium bowl, stir together the confectioners’ sugar and lemon juice until thick and smooth. (If you’d like the icing to be a little thinner, add more lemon juice, ½ teaspoon at a time. If it’s too thin, you can thicken it by adding more sugar.) Gently spread the icing across the top of the tart, creating a wavy edge of icing and leaving an un-iced crust border. Sprinkle rainbow sprinkles over the icing. Serve the jam bar tart whole and cut it into pieces at the table.
