I found this recipe of Czech bars with jam and walnuts in a Commemorative Cookbook of the Episcopal Church in Minnesota.
I love these books as they always bring together the culture, the recipes, and traditions of the state. I was always interested in Minnesota’s culture, the state that adopted me many years ago when I moved to the U.S. , so I always looked for ways to familiarize myself with the culture of the place. Minnesota has a great tradition of baking casseroles, cookies, and bars, probably because there was not much to do in the old times during the winter. With the climate we have, comforting food is important for survival.
Minnesota also has an important number of Germans, Eastern Europeans, and Northern Europeans descendants who are known for their baking skills. For that matter, Minnesotan cooking books have an extensive collection of coffee breads, cookies, pastries, and bars.
For today, I chose this recipe because it reminds me of a recipe of bars my German grandmother, Herta used to bake. She also lived in Transylvania, where Romanians, Germans and Hungarians lived in peaceful communities. Women exchanged recipes and loved to cook and bake using basic ingredients that everyone kept in their pantries.
The recipe is very simple to make and if you have a jar of strawberry, raspberry or apricot jam, it is time to make these great little bars.
The bars are great with a cup of coffee, so maybe you yould like to try a cup of this Traditional Turkish Coffee for a change.
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Happy baking!
- 1 cup unsalted butter room temperature
- 1 cup granulated sugar
- 2 large egg yolks
- 1 pinch salt
- 2 cups all purpose flour
- 1 cup chopped walnuts
- ¾ cup fig, strawberry, raspberry or apricot jam
- Preheat the oven to 325F.
- Beat butter, sugar, and salt together until light and fluffy.
- Add egg yolks and beat well.
- Gradually add flour and mix well.
- Fold in chopped walnuts.
- Spread ½ batter in greased 8x12 inch baking pan.
- Top with jam.
- Cover the jam with the remaining batter (It may need to be pressed by hand).
- Bake at 325F for 1 hour.
- Let it cool completely before cutting into squares.
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