Plum Bars Recipes

PLUM CRUMB BARS

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 350°F. Line 9×13-inch baking dish with parchment paper and lightly grease with non-stick cooking spray.
• In a medium bowl, toss the plums and Wondra flour until plums are well coated. Squeeze with lemon juice and stir until well combined. Set aside.
• In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, oats, brown sugar, baking soda, cinnamon, nutmeg, and salt. Cut in the butter and vanilla until mixture resembles coarse crumbs. You can use a pastry cutter, two forks or your hands for this step.
• Set aside 1-1/2 cups for topping. Press remaining crumbs into prepared baking dish. Arrange plums evenly over top. Sprinkle with reserved crumbs.
• Bake for 40-45 minutes or until top is lightly browned. Let cool at least 30 minutes before removing from the baking dish and cutting into squares.
• Notes: Store in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 4 days.

PLUM BARS

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 350°F/177°C. Line a 9×9-inch baking pan with parchment paper so that it hangs over the sides.
• In a food processor bowl, pulse together the oats, flour, brown sugar, cinnamon, and salt a few times to mix. Add the butter and pulse together until a butter crumbly mixture forms. The mixture should hold together when you squeeze it.
• Press 1/2 of the dough into the bottom of the prepared baking pan. Bake for 10-12 minutes or until lightly golden brown.
• Meanwhile, in a medium bowl, add the plums, sugar, cornstarch, vanilla, and salt. Gently stir to combine. Spoon the mixture into an even layer onto the warm crust. Sprinkle the remaining dough over the plums. Transfer to the oven and bake for 30-40 minutes or until the crumble is light golden brown.
• Allow bars to cool completely before cutting.

PLUM COBBLER BARS

Steps:

• In a large pot, combine plums and 1 1/2 cups/300 grams granulated sugar. Heat over medium-low heat, stirring occasionally, until fruit releases juices and becomes very tender, 12 to 15 minutes. Meanwhile, place a small plate in the refrigerator to chill. You'll use this later to check the doneness of the jam.
• Purée plum mixture in pot using an immersion blender (be careful of splashing), or remove from pot and purée in a blender or food processor until relatively smooth. Return purée to pot if you removed it, and cook over medium-low heat, stirring occasionally, until mixture thickens and reduces by about half, about 10 minutes. You should end up with about 3 1/2 cups/840 milliliters plum jam. (You can test the doneness by spooning a small amount of the jam onto the chilled plate, returning it to the refrigerator and letting it sit for 2 minutes. It should keep a clean line when you run your finger through it.)
• In a small bowl, whisk remaining 1/3 cup/65 grams granulated sugar with cornstarch to combine. Whisk sugar-cornstarch mixture into jam and cook, stirring occasionally, until it simmers. Simmer for 1 minute, stirring well to prevent scorching. Stir in vanilla extract, and cool plum mixture to room temperature.
• Heat oven to 350 degrees, and line a 9-by-13-inch pan with parchment paper with overhang on all sides. In a large bowl, combine oats, flour, whole wheat flour, brown sugar, baking powder, salt and cinnamon. Add melted butter and stir until the mixture forms streusel-like crumbs.
• Press 2/3 of crumb mixture into an even layer at bottom of prepared pan. Spread cooled plum jam in an even layer over crust, then sprinkle remaining crumb mixture evenly over top of jam.
• Bake until jam bubbles at edges and streusel is lightly browned, 45 to 55 minutes. Cool completely before slicing into 12 pieces.

STICKY PLUM FLAPJACK BARS

Steps:

• Heat oven to 200C/180C fan/gas 6. Tip the plums into a bowl. Toss with the spice, 50g of the sugar and a small pinch of salt, then set aside to macerate.
• Gently melt the butter in a saucepan. In a large bowl, mix the oats, flour, walnut pieces and remaining sugar together, making sure there are no lumps of sugar, then stir in the butter and golden syrup until everything is combined into a loose flapjack mixture.
• Grease a square baking tin about 20 x 20cm. Press half the oaty mix over the base of the tin, then tip over the plums and spread to make an even layer. Press the remaining oats over the plums so they are completely covered right to the sides of the tin. Bake for 45-50 mins until dark golden and starting to crisp a little around the edges. Leave to cool completely, then cut into 18 little bars. Will keep in an airtight container for 2 days or can be frozen for up to a month.