Also adapted from the Williams-Sonoma Essentials of Baking cookbook, these yummy bars were a snap to make and were well-received by coworking guinea pigs. The recipe called for black cherry preserves, but I could tell, simply from reading the recipe, that they really wanted sour cherries. I can’t even imagine how sweet they would have been with black cherry preserves; as it was, I cautioned everyone to have some coffee on hand for a chaser. The little Amish girl inside me can never resist anything with an oatmeal-streusel topping. Just wait until rhubarb season. These were great for winter, when you really can't find any decent fruit.
1 3/4 cups (280 g) AP flour
1 ½ cups (140 g) old fashioned rolled oats
½ cup (110 g) firmly packed dark brown sugar*
½ cup (110 g) firmly packed golden brown sugar
1 ½ tsp ground cinnamon
½ tsp ground cardamom
1 cup (250 g) cold butter, cut into small cubes
1 1/4 cup sour cherry preserves of good quality, make sure that it is decently tart
Preheat oven to 325 degrees (165C) and grease a 9 inch (23 cm) square baking pan.
Mix together your flour, oats, sugars, cinnamon and cardamom. Using a pastry cutter, cut in the butter until you have crumbs about the size of a sweet pea. Remove 2 cups of the mixture and set aside. Pour the remaining mixture in the bottom of the baking pan and press all around the bottom and about an inch up the sides. Using a teaspoon, drop the jam over the crust; don’t worry about filling the whole area, as the jam will melt and spread. Sprinkle the rest of the mixture on top and bake until the topping is firm and golden, about 55 minutes to an hour. Allow to cool for 2 hours (if you can resist. I, of course, couldn’t, and cut out a tiny square for a taster, and burned my tongue on hot cherry jam. The Veruca Curse strikes again.)
Slice into 25 small squares - they are very sweet, as I’ve said, and a little goes a long way. Eat, share, and enjoy.
*A note about sugar: I almost always use a blend of dark and golden brown sugars, when the recipe calls for just golden brown. The flavor the dark brown sugar is just so much more dark and intense than its weaker counterpart. If you prefer, however, you can of course use all golden brown.
