To finish out this wonderful farm to table dinner week I’m going to share a sweet treat – 5 ingredient jam crumb bars! They’re my favorite no fuss dessert that feeds a crowd.
This week I’ve shared how to have a farm to table dinner in your backyard along with recipes for a salad with homemade buttermilk ranch dressing and soft boiled eggs, ginger glazed and seared carrots, potato and kohlrabi salad, rotisserie chicken, and now these 5 ingredient jam crumb bars. These bars are so delicious and versatile and will feed a crowd!
[Tweet “Need a dessert to feed a crowd? Try these 5 ingredient jam crumb bars from @sweetphi”]
I just love desserts like that – desserts that feed a crowd. Because honestly, sometimes when there’s a whole group of people the last thing one wants to do is ‘chance it’ and try doubling or tripling a recipe without knowing what the end result will be.
And they’re beyond easy to make, only five ingredients (perfect for Five Ingredient Fridays) and can be customized to whatever jam you have on hand or want to use. If you have some fruit (another idea for what to do with leftover fruit) you most certainly can add it in. I like to use a big baking sheet – a jelly roll pan (like this 12 x 18 jelly roll cookie sheet) for baking.
When I made these bars for the farm to table dinner I added some fresh strawberry slices, but that is totally optional, you really just need some good quality jam and you’re all set to go. I’ve found that the best jam for these bars is a berry jam that has a little bit of tartness to it…perhaps a berry blend or a seedless raspberry.
The flavor combination is really great – the butter and ‘crumb’ topping is the perfect texture and flavor contrast to the jam. I would say these are perfect for summer, but the truth is, these would be great for any season or occasion-birthdays, holidays, potlucks, you name it…these jam crumb bars would make a great addition (I’m thinking of making these with cranberries for Thanksgiving).
The next time you’re in search of a super easy dessert for a crowd that comes together in a flash, these 5 ingredient jam crumb bars are your savior!
Ingredients
- 3 sticks butter 1 1/2 cups butter
- 2 cups flour
- 1 cup oats
- 1 cup sugar
- 2 cups jam
- optional - fresh fruit-such as a pint of strawberries
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 375, use a little of the butter to grease a jelly roll pan.
- In a food processor pulsate together 1 cup of the butter (cut into chunks before adding to the food processor), 1 2/3 cups flour, 2/3 cup of the sugar and 1/3 cup oats. Pulsate until combined into a mealy mixture. Press into the prepared pan.
- Spread the jam over the prepared layer. (If adding fruit - now is when you would add it)
- In the food processor process the remaining ingredients (1/2 cup butter, 1/3 cup flour, 1/3 cup sugar, 2/3 cup oats) until a crumbly mixture, then sprinkle over jam.
- Bake for 25 minutes or until edges are golden brown, then remove from oven and allow to completely cool before cutting into squares (I cut big squares and got 32, but you could easily cut these into small squares for more!)
Natasha Ferguson says
Hi im wondering if I use quick oats for the recipe?
Sweetphi says
You can use quick oats or rolled oats for this recipe – both work great!
Cheyanne @ No Spoon Necessary says
These bars are ah-mazing! Only 5 ingredients, simple to whip together, feed a crowd AND seriously delicious?! I am SO all over this! I love how soft and scrumptious the crumb topping looks and your addition of sliced fresh strawberries (i’m taking your suggestion and adding these for sure!)! These bars just look and sound like the jam (<– pun totally intended). Cheers and thanks for sharing the YUM! 😉
Sweetphi says
Hahaha, I totally love puns and had to stop myself from saying ‘these are my jam’ like 500 times lol! Thank you for commenting, I definitely think you’d love them with the fresh strawberries.
Laura @ Laura's Culinary Adventures says
Beautiful bars! It’s always good to have a few desserts to feed a crowed on hand.
Sweetphi says
These are definitely perfect for feeding a crowd – it’s my go to recipe, and I totally agree – I love having a good dessert recipe on hand 🙂
cheri says
H Phi, these really look delicious, only problem is if I made this I might try and eat the whole thing myself. Love it!
Sweetphi says
Hahah, I hear you on wanting to eat the whole tray Cheri, they’re just THAT good – that’s why I only make them when I am bringing them to social gatherings 😉
Shawnna says
Oh yummy!! These look amazing!
Sweetphi says
Thank you so much Shawnna, they’re so super good and easy to make 🙂
Trisha (Stew or a Story) says
Phi, these are gorgeous! I’ve loved reading these farm-to-table posts. They’ve inspired me to have a summer picnic. These bars will definitely be coming too–I have some raspberry jam that would be perfect!
Sweetphi says
Thank you so much Trisha, I’m so glad you liked the farm to table series I did – they were so much fun…and these crumb bars, they’re soooo good! I’m totally making them again this weekend for a get together!
Beverley @ sweaty&fit says
i LOVE crumbles, but a crumb BAR that i can easily take with me? this is perfect 🙂
Sweetphi says
I’m right there with you, crumbles are awesome, but they’re hard to transport and share, whereas these bars are perfect for sharing 🙂
Lynn Lovejoy says
GIRL! These look freaking unbelievable!!! I wish I had some right now! They would be delicious with a big cup of coffee too!
Sweetphi says
I don’t know why I never even thought of them with a cup of coffee, but you’re absolutely right, these would make an awesome coffee-cake-like dessert – they’d be great for breakfast, an afternoon snack or dessert! Thanks for the great idea, love you!
Suné Moolman says
I like how adaptable this is – you can use any jam on hand. 🙂
Sweetphi says
Because it is so adaptable it is one of my favorite dessert recipes 🙂
Little Cooking Tips says
Easy, no fuss dessert/snack. Really great work Phi!
Indeed a fantastic crowd pleaser! We don’t have any of our homemade jam left, but we recently bought an IKEA raspberry-blueberry jam that’s really good. It seems like the obvious choice for this recipe!:)
Thank you for another delicious treat dear!
Lots of greetings,
Panos and Mirella
xoxoxo
Sweetphi says
Oh yum, a raspberry-blueberry would be absolutely perfect with this dessert, thank you for the lovely comment 🙂
Dannii @ Hungry Healthy Happy says
I love how few ingredients it has in it. Also, I am a big fan of desserts with oats in them, as it means I can get away with having it for breakfast 😉
Sweetphi says
Haha, yes, desserts with oats are the best, aren’t they? And one of these bars for breakfast would be totally acceptable 😉