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Golden and buttery jam crumb bars make the best cookie bars! Filled with mixed berry jam (try any flavor you love!) and drizzled with vanilla glaze, these easy crumb bars made with melted butter make the perfect bite of sweetness. Recipe makes 16 bars.
I love these jam crumble bars because there’s no special equipment involved (no mixer or food processor necessary!). They’re the perfect treat to whip up when you’re craving a sweet and buttery bite.
Made with melted butter, the dough comes together easily in a mixing bowl and holds together nicely to use for both the crust and crumb topping.
This recipe is incredibly versatile, so feel free to use your favorite flavor jam or preserves. I’ve tested these bars with mixed berry jam, cherry preserves, blueberry jam, and strawberry jam. All delicious!
More easy dessert bars: old fashioned cherry pie bars, buttery raspberry crumble bars, jammy blackberry pie bars, and sweet strawberry crumb bars!
How to Make Jam Crumb Bars
Crust and Crumble – The crust and crumble are made with the same buttery dough. To make the dough, whisk together dry ingredients in a medium bowl. Combine melted butter, sugar, brown sugar, vanilla extract, and almond extract in a large bowl and whisk well until smooth. Add dry ingredients to the butter mixture and fold in with a spatula until incorporated.
Set aside 3/4 cup of dough (220 grams) to use for the topping, mixing in sliced almonds until mixture is crumbly. Chill the topping in the fridge until ready to use. Press remaining dough evenly into the bottom of prepared baking pan.
Bake Crust – Bake the crust for 14 to 16 minutes, or until lightly golden and set. Transfer to a wire rack and let cool for 15 minutes.
Assemble Jam Bars – Place jam in a small bowl and microwave for 10 seconds or until slightly warm. Whisk to loosen, then spread jam evenly over cooled crust. Sprinkle reserved dough over jam layer and return the pan to the oven.
Second Bake – Continue baking crumb bars for 30 to 35 minutes, or until the crumble topping is golden brown and the jam filling is slightly bubbly. Remove bars from the oven and cool completely in pan on a wire rack.
Vanilla Glaze – Whisk together melted butter, salt, vanilla, powdered sugar, and milk in a small bowl. Drizzle vanilla glaze over cooled bars and let set before serving.
Tips to Freeze
To freeze these jam crumb bars, let cool completely. Once cooled, place the unglazed bars on a baking sheet and freeze flat for 1 hour. After 1 hour, transfer the bars to an airtight container and freeze up to 2 months.
When you’re ready to enjoy, thaw bars overnight in the refrigerator (still wrapped to prevent condensation from forming) and glaze before serving.
Best cookie recipes with jam:
- Almond Thumbprint Cookies
- Raspberry Pecan Linzer Cookies
- Jam Butter Cookies
- Almond Jamaretti Cookies
Easy Jam Crumb Bars
- Prep Time: 30 minutes
- Cook Time: 50 minutes
- Total Time: 1 hour 20 minutes
- Yield: 16 bars
- Category: Dessert
- Method: Bake
- Cuisine: American
Description
Buttery jam crumb bars make the BEST cookie bars! Filled with jam and drizzled with vanilla glaze, you’ll love these easy crumb bars. Recipe makes 16 bars.
Ingredients
Crust & Crumbs
- 2 cups (280 g) all-purpose flour
- 1/4 tsp baking soda
- 1/4 tsp salt
- 3/4 cup (168 g) unsalted butter, melted
- 1/2 cup (100 g) granulated sugar
- 1/4 cup (50 g) light brown sugar
- 1 tsp (4 g) vanilla extract
- 1/2 tsp (2 g) pure almond extract
- 3 Tbsp (22 g) sliced almonds
Filling
- 3/4 cup (240 g) berry jam (or favorite jam)
Glaze
- 1 Tbsp (14 g) unsalted butter, melted
- 1/8 tsp salt
- 1 tsp (4 g) vanilla extract
- 1 cup (120 g) powdered sugar
- 2 Tbsp (30 g) milk
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350°F and line an 8-inch square baking pan with parchment paper.
- Make crust and crumble: Whisk together flour, baking soda, and salt in a medium bowl. Whisk together melted butter, sugar, brown sugar, vanilla, and almond extract in a large bowl until combined. Add dry ingredients and fold in until incorporated.
- Set aside 3/4 cup (220 g) of dough for topping, mixing in sliced almonds until mixture is crumbly. Chill until ready to use. Press remaining dough evenly into bottom of prepared baking pan.
- Bake crust for 14 to 16 minutes, until lightly golden and set. Transfer to a wire rack and cool for 15 minutes.
- Place jam in a small bowl and microwave for 10 seconds; whisk to loosen. Spread jam evenly over cooled crust and crumble reserved dough over jam layer.
- Bake bars for another 30 to 35 minutes, or until topping is golden and filling slightly bubbly. Cool completely in pan on a wire rack.
- Make glaze: Whisk together melted butter, salt, vanilla, powdered sugar, and milk in a small bowl. Drizzle glaze over cooled bars and let set. Carefully lift parchment and place bars on a cutting board; cut into squares with a sharp knife.
- Store crumb bars in an airtight container at room temperature up to 3 days.
Notes
Larger Batch: For a larger batch of crumb bars, double the recipe and bake in a 9 x 13-inch rectangular baking pan.
Freeze Crumb Bars: To freeze crumb bars, let cool completely. Once cooled, place the unglazed bars on a baking sheet and freeze flat for 1 hour. Transfer bars to an airtight container and freeze up to 8 weeks. Thaw bars overnight in the refrigerator and glaze before serving.
Gluten Free Bars: Use your favorite 1-1 gluten-free flour.
Would it work for me to cut in the butter rather than melting it?
Hi Deb, I haven’t tested this recipe with cubed butter, so I can’t speak to any specific adjustments that may need to be made (amount of flour, etc). If you don’t have a microwave on hand, you can melt the butter in a small saucepan on the stovetop.
After I sent the first comment, I realized that what I should have asked was would it work to cream the butter, sugars, and vanilla together instead of melting the butter? I would then beat in the dry ingredients. I have a microwave, it is just that I like the idea of creaming the butter over melting it. Thank you for your patience with my questions!
Ah, I understand. I haven’t tried that with this particular recipe, but that would likely work with softened butter. I’d start with 1 3/4 cups (245 g) all-purpose flour, mixing in until the dough comes together in large pieces.
These were absolutely amazing. I made them exactly as written with homemade pluot jam. I am not a fruit bar fan, but wanted to use up the rest of my freezer jam from last summer and I am so glad I made them.
That’s great to hear, thank you Wendy! Pluot jam sounds delicious.
Wonderful jam bars, I make them every year with homemade apricot or blackberry jam. Everyone always asks me for the recipe!
Thanks so much, Sheila! Merry Christmas!
Made these bars for Easter and filled them with raspberry jam. They’re so buttery and delicious!
Hi Jan, thanks so much for your feedback!
These are so unbelievably yummy and my family loves them!
So happy to hear that, thank you so much! 🙂
This was really good. Had some leftover strawberry pie filling from another recipe and put it in here instead of the jam.
I made these yesterday and they are absolutely fantastic! The dough was so easy to work with! I doubled the batch and made them in a 9×13 pan and used homemade raspberry jam. I’ll definitely be making these again! Thanks so much!
Thank you so much, Erin! So glad you tried these and your homemade jam sounds wonderful! 🙂