21-05-2025
These Jam Bars Are My Jam
The sun smiled down over Brooklyn last weekend. The temperature gently hovered around 75 degrees, and on Prospect Park's Great Lawn, picnickers spread themselves out like asparagus on a sheet pan. We're eating outside again: Summer is a-comin' in!
To tee up alfresco dining season, Tanya Sichynsky (she of the The Veggie) has assembled a collection of our best 'portable and shareable recipes built for the backyard, the beach and the communal barbecue.' She may not say it in so many words, but the list definitely works for picnics and park hangs, too.
Tanya has lined up two dozen absolute bangers to pick from, but high on my list is Yewande Komolafe's recipe for chewy strawberry jam bars with cardamom. Yewande is a shortbread sorcerer, ever coaxing new flavors, shapes and colors from her exquisite, buttery dough.
These simple bars with a nubby, crumbly topping hold up well for travel, easily feed a crowd and are maximally adaptable. Substitute any thick jam for strawberry — ideally something tart to balance the sweet crust. And if these treats, like most shortbreads, tend toward crumbliness, well, you're eating them outside. The squirrels, ants and sparrows will be more than happy to tidy up.
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