Jammy Shortbread Squares with Oat Crumble Topping

I love shortbread. It’s so quick, easy and made with simple ingredients (flour, butter and sugar) that all bakers will have to hand. To take it up a notch, in this recipe I add just two more staples to create Jammy Shortbread Squares with Oat Crumble Topping.

Delicious cold with a cup of tea or coffee, or heat and serve as a quick pudding with custard, cream or ice cream.

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Buttery shortbread must have been one of the first sweet treats I ever baked. It’s perfect for beginners with a simple method and not even any rolling out. The basic recipe is one I think every cook should have in their repertoire.

Not just almost effortless, but so very good, you’ll find my basic Shortbread recipe here. But in this post I take that shortbread to super-deliciouslevel with the addition of just a few more ingredients. Oats, nuts, and jam.

JAMMY SHORTBREAD SQUARES

Jammy Shortbread Squares with Oat Crumble Topping are simply a layer of shortbread topped with jam and a sprinkle of crumble mixture that includes rolled oats.

The whole thing is baked until the shortbread is cooked through and the crumble topping nicely browned and crunchy. Within, the jam will have bubbled up enticingly. Delish.

For the Jammy Shortbread Squares with Oat Crumble Topping you see in this post, I made some with my homemade Rhubarb, Apple & Ginger Jam and some with my Gooseberry Jam.

Both of these are on the tart side rather than overly sweet, which is my preference. But you can use any flavour of good quality jam you like.

EASY METHOD

As I explained in my post about shortbread, the joy of it is that you just rub together flour, slat, sugar and soft butter until you have a loose dough. There’s no rolling out required, just press the dough into a baking tin. For jammy shortbread squares I use a tin that’s 20 cm square, lightly buttered.

Using your fingers, pat out the dough to cover the whole of the base of the tin, making sure it goes right up to the edges. Once it looks fairly even, I take a metal spoon and run it over the dough to smooth out any lumps and bumps.

Next, I take 4 – 5 generous tablespoonfuls of jam and spread it over the dough. Be sure to leave a 1cm bare border all around so that when the jam bubbles and spreads it won’t stick to the sides of the tin.

The jam layer is then topped with crumble. To make this you just rub more butter into flour then stir in sugar and rolled oats or porridge oats. A few drops of cold water will help you form the mixture into different sized pieces to scatter over the jam.

FLAVOURING THE OAT CRUMBLE

To add interest to the crumble you could add nuts, spices or other flavourings that complement the flavour of jam you’re using.

I added ground ginger to the topping for my shortbread squares which had Rhubarb, Apple & Ginger Jam in the middle. A few other flavour pairings that come to mind are:

• cinnamon and chopped hazelnuts for shortbread squares with plum jam
• ground cloves with apple jam
• rich allspice or mixed spice and chopped pecans for dark fruit jams like damson or blackberry

BAKING & COOLING

Jammy Shortbread Squares take around 35 minutes to cook. By this time the top should be nicely browned with the fruity jam starting to bubble up through the buttery crumble. To make it easier to remove later, cut the bake into squares while it’s still hot but leave in the tin.

Now leave the whole thing to one side until completely cold. You should then be able to remove each square relatively easily with the help of a round bladed knife.

HOT OR COLD

Enjoy these Jammy Shortbread Squares with Oat Crumble Topping as a snack or with a cuppa. Stored in an airtight container where they’ll keep for around 3 days.

But I think I love them even more as a hot pudding. Simply heat squares in a microwave for about 20 seconds then serve with cream, homemade custard or ice cream.

Have you made Jammy Shortbread Squares with Oat Crumble Topping?

Leave a comment below & don’t forget to rate the recipe.

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Jammy Shortbread Squares with Oat Crumble Topping

Delicious cold with a cup of tea or coffee, these are a quick and easily made treat. Can also be heated and served as a pudding with custard, cream or ice cream.

Course Dessert, Snack

Cuisine British

Keyword shortbread crumble squares

Prep Time 15 minutes

Cook Time 35 minutes

Total Time 50 minutes

Servings 9 servings

Author Moorlands Eater

Ingredients

For the base:

• 110 g butter plus extra for greasing
• 180 g plain flour white, wholemal or a mixture
• 1 pinch salt
• 50 g caster sugar

For the filling:

• 4-5 rounded tbsp good quality jam

For the crumble topping:

• 60 g butter
• 100 g plain flour white, wholemeal or a mixture
• 1 pinch salt
• 1 tsp spice (e.g. ground ginger, cinnamon) optional
• 30 g caster sugar plus extra for sprinkling
• 30 g rolled oats
• 30 g chopped nuts (e.g. hazelnuts, pecans) optional
• few drops water

Instructions

1. Preheat the oven to 170C/ 150C Fan / Gas 3

   Butter a baking tin approximately 20cm square.

2. For the base:

   Stir the flour, salt and sugar together in a bowl.

   Rub the butter into the flour mixture and bring it together into a rough ball of dough.

   Press the dough evenly into the base of the baking tin, making sure you go right to the edges. Smooth, the top with the back of a spoon.

3. Spread the jam over the shortbread base, leaving a 1cm bare edge all around (the jam will spread as it heats up).

4. For the crumble topping:

   Rub the butter into the flour, salt and spices if using.

   Stir in the sugar, oats and chopped nuts if using.
   

   Add 2-3 drops water and, using your hands, bring together small pieces of the topping so that it forms differently-sized pieces of crumble.
   

5. Sprinkle the crumble topping over the jam so it's completely covered.
   

6. Place in the preheated oven and bake until cooked through, browned and with the jam just starting to bubble through the topping (approx 35 min).
   

7. Remove from the oven and cut into 9 squares while still hot.

   Leave in the tin until completely cold.

8. Remove each square with the help of a round bladed knife.

   Eat cold or reheat in a microwave for 20 seconds and serve with custard, cream or ice cream.

   Cold Jammy Shortbread Squares will keep in an airtight container for 3 days or can be frozen.

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