jam crumb bars
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 make the perfect bite of sweetness.
The Best Jam Crumb Bars
Baking Pan – Use an 8-inch square baking pan lined with parchment paper for this recipe. Light-colored pans conduct heat evenly, and parchment paper keeps the bars from sticking to the pan.
Jam – These bars are delicious with mixed berry preserves (shown here), raspberry jam, blackberry jam, apricot jam, or any flavor you love!
Crust and Crumble – The crust and crumble are made with the same buttery dough. To make the dough, combine melted butter, sugar, brown sugar, vanilla extract, and almond extract in a large bowl. Combine dry ingredients in a separate bowl, then add to the butter mixture and fold in until incorporated.
Set aside 3/4 cup of dough to use for the topping, mixing in sliced almonds until mixture is crumbly. Chill the topping 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 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. Crumble 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 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.
Larger Batch – For a larger batch of crumb bars, double the recipe and bake in a 9 x 13-inch rectangular baking pan.
How to Freeze Crumb Bars
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 8 weeks. Thaw bars overnight in the refrigerator (still wrapped to prevent condensation from forming) and glaze before serving.
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.
Ingredients
Crust & Crumbs
- 3/4 cup unsalted butter, melted
- 1/2 cup sugar
- 1/4 cup light brown sugar
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 1/2 tsp pure almond extract
- 2 cups flour
- 1/4 tsp baking soda
- 1/4 tsp salt
- 3 Tbsp sliced almonds
Filling
- 3/4 cup berry jam (or favorite jam)
Glaze
- 1 Tbsp unsalted butter, melted
- pinch of salt
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 3/4 cup powdered sugar
- 2 Tbsp milk
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350°F and line an 8-inch square baking pan with parchment paper. Whisk together melted butter, sugar, brown sugar, vanilla, and almond extract in a large bowl until combined.
- Whisk together flour, baking soda, and salt in a medium bowl; add to butter mixture and fold in until incorporated. Set aside 3/4 cup 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 for another 30 to 35 minutes, or until topping is golden and filling slightly bubbly. Cool completely in pan on a wire rack.
- For the 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.
Notes
The equipment section above contains affiliate links to products I use and love!
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.
Keywords: Crumb Bars, Streusel Bars, Bar Cookies, Holiday Cookies
Best cookie recipes with jam:
Almond Thumbprint Cookies
Raspberry Pecan Linzer Cookies
Jam Butter Cookies
Jamaretti Cookies
These bars are divine!! Perfectly sweet and buttery with the delicious jam filling. The best cookie bars I have ever made!
★★★★★
Thank you, Rosa! So glad you tried them! 🙂
Super delicious bars and a fabulous recipe! They’re so easy to make and I love the almond extract here – it pairs so perfectly with jam!
★★★★★
Hi Deb, so glad these bars were a hit! 🙂
So good! I doubled the recipe and tried multiple jam and filling options. Such delicious bars!
★★★★★
Thanks so much for your feedback, Mary!
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! 🙂
These bars are so good! Easy, delicious, and perfect with any flavor jam (we loved blackberry).
★★★★★
Hi Amie, I’m so glad you tried this recipe. Love the sound of blackberry preserves in these bars! 🙂