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You are here: Home / Cookies and Bars / Jam Shortbread Bars

Jam Shortbread Bars

January 28, 2021 By Dawn 5 Comments

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Jam Shortbread Bars, are a sweet crumbly bar that is made with five simple ingredients. Super easy to make and one of my favorite bars.
Looking down at a stack of bars on a round white plate.
Shortbread is always one of my favorite cookies. I love the sweet buttery flavor and the crumbly texture. Pair it with your favorite jam and you have a perfect bar recipe.

If you are looking for an easy recipe that doesn’t make a ton of bars this recipe is perfect for you. The recipe makes about 12 bars and so perfect if you want a smaller dessert recipe.
A side view of two jam shortbread bars on a plate.

Helpful Tips:

  • The butter is the most important ingredient in this recipe. You want the butter to be soft, but not melted. If the butter is too hard it will be hard to work into the dough, which will make for overworked dough and a tough shortbread.
  • Use your favorite jams. The different flavors of jams will change up the bars slightly. A tart jam will give the bars a sweet-tart flavor, this is my favorite. I love the combination of the sweet shortbread and the tart jam.
  • The bars are done when light golden brown. About 20 to 25 minutes.
  • Cool the bars completely before cutting them.
  • These bars will freeze well. Make sure to have them in an airtight freezer container.

Steps for making Jam Shortbread Bars

Step one

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F. Grease an 8-inch baking pan and set aside.

Ingredients for jam shortbread.
Flour and sugar in a medium glass mixing bowl.
Butter is added to the flour mixture.

Step two

Combine the flour, sugar, and salt together in a medium bowl. Work in the butter with a pastry cutter, fork, or fingers to make a crumbly dough.

Step three

Reserve 1 cup of the dough for the topping. Pat the remainder of the dough in the prepared baking pan.

Flour and butter mixed together to make a crumbly dough.
The crust is patted in the bottom of an 8-inch pan.
The bottom crust is baked.

Step four

Bake the crust in the preheated oven for 8 minutes.

Step five

Remove from the oven and spread the jam over the baked crust leaving about a 1/4 inch border. Crumble the remaining dough over the top of the jam.

The jam is spread over top of the baked crust.
The crumble topping is sprinkled over top of the jam.
Baked shortbread jam bars in a baking pan.

Step six

Return to the oven and bake until golden brown about 20 to 25 minutes. Cool and cut into bars.

Here are additional bar recipes that I love:

  • Congo Bars
  • Pear Cream Cheese Crumble Bars
  • Lemon Cream Cheese Bars

Two jam bars are stacked on a white plate.

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Looking down at a stack of bars on a round white plate.

Jam Shortbread Bars

Jam Shortbread Bars a sweet crumbly bar that is made with five simple ingredients. Super easy to make and one of my favorite bars.
5 from 2 votes
Print Pin Rate
Course: Dessert
Cuisine: American
Keyword: Jam shortbread bars, shortbread bars
Prep Time: 15 minutes minutes
Cook Time: 25 minutes minutes
Servings: 12 bars
Calories: 273kcal
Author: Dawn

Ingredients

  • 1 3/4 cup all-purpose flour
  • 1/2 cup sugar
  • 1/8 teaspoon salt
  • 3/4 cup butter 12 tablespoons
  • 1 cup jam your favorite

Instructions

  • Preheat oven to 375 degrees F. Grease an 8-inch baking pan.
  • Combine the flour, sugar, and salt in a medium bowl. Work in the butter with a pastry cutter, fork, or fingers.
  • Reserve 1 cup of the dough for the topping. Press the remaining dough in the prepared baking pan.
  • Place in the oven and bake the crust for 8 minutes. Remove from the oven and spread the jam over the crust leaving about 1/4 border. Crumble the remaining dough over the top of the jam.
  • Place back in the oven and bake 20 to 25 minutes or until the edges are golden brown.
  • Place bars on a cooling rack and cool. Once they are cooled cut into bars.

Notes

  1. The butter is the most important ingredient in this recipe. Use butter that is soft, but not melted. You will want to have butter that you are able to work into the dough easily.
  2. Cool the bars before cutting them. 
  3. You can freeze the bars in an airtight freezer container. 
 
 
 
 
Nutrition information is an estimate and may vary with brands of ingredients used.

Nutrition

Calories: 273kcal | Carbohydrates: 40.6g | Protein: 2.1g | Fat: 11.7g | Saturated Fat: 7.3g | Trans Fat: 7.3g | Cholesterol: 31mg | Sodium: 114mg | Potassium: 43mg | Fiber: 0.8g | Sugar: 21.3g | Calcium: 11mg

This recipe was originally published on November 30, 2013. It has been updated with new content and pictures on January 28, 2021.


Filed Under: Cookies and Bars

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Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. Joanne

    November 30, 2013 at 12:45 pm

    My brother HATES chocolate so I love finding chocolate-free options for him! These are perfect!!

    Reply
  2. Kitchen Riffs

    December 1, 2013 at 5:40 pm

    There’s just the two of us, but we still make large batches of stuff. We’ve learned to give away much of it – otherwise we’d eat it all, which would not be a good thing! This looks wonderful – thanks.

    Reply
  3. angiesrecipes

    January 29, 2021 at 2:44 am

    Shortbread crust with fruity jam filling..a perfect dessert!

    Reply
  4. David @ Spiced

    February 3, 2021 at 6:07 am

    5 stars
    I absolutely love shortbread, and the crumbly topping on these bars looks fantastic, Dawn! This is a great recipe for when fresh fruit is difficult to find since it uses jam. I need one of those bars ASAP!

    Reply
  5. Liz

    February 18, 2021 at 6:18 am

    5 stars
    My favorite kind of bar cookies! These look delicious, Dawn!

    Reply

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Dawn

Welcome to Words of Deliciousness!
My name is Dawn! I am a wife, mom, grandma and the blogger behind Words of Deliciousness! I love sharing my favorite recipes and I hope some of these become your favorites too.
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Updated on January 10, 2022