Five-Spice Prune Bars
Brace yourself for the most delicious streusel bar cookie that has a layer of heavenly five-spice prune jam sandwiched between a vanilla bean shortbread crust and a crunchy, buttery layer of streusel. YUM!
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Servings: 16 Bar Cookies
Ingredients
For the Cookie Crust
- 1 cup (135 g) all-purpose flour (how to measure flour)
- 3 tablespoons (36 g) granulated sugar
- 2 tablespoons (17 g) cornstarch
- 1/2 teaspoon (3 g) sea salt
- 10 tablespoons (140 g) unsalted butter (room temperature, cut into 10 pieces)
- ½ vanilla bean (split and seeds scraped or 1/2 teapsoon real vanilla extract)
For the Streusel
- 1/2 batch 5-Minute Streusel Topping
- ¼ cup (30 g) almond slices
For the Five-Spice Prune Jam
- 1/2 pound (228 g) prunes (coarsely chopped)
- ½ cup (115 g) water
- 1.5 tablespoons (3 g) orange zest (about 1 medium oranges)
- 1.5 tablespoons (21 g) fresh orange juice (about 1 medium oranges)
- 1 tablespoon (14 g) light brown sugar (packed)
- 1 1/2 teaspoons (3 g) five-spice powder
- 1 teaspoon (4 g) almond extract
For the Vanilla Bean Glaze
- 1/2 cup (120 g) powdered sugar (sifted)
- 3-4 tablespoon (45-60 g) heavy whipping cream
- 1/4 vanilla bean (split and seeds scraped (or 1/4 teaspoon real vanilla extract))
Instructions
For the Cookie Crust
- To make the crust, preheat your oven to 350°F (177°C). Grease an 9 x 9–inch (23 x 23–cm) baking pan and line with parchment paper, letting the excess fall over the sides.
- In a food processor fitted with the blade attachment (see note), add the flour, sugar, cornstarch and salt in the food processor and pulse several times to mix. Sprinkle the butter and vanilla over the flour mixture and run the processor for 1 minute or until a ball forms. Press the dough evenly into the bottom of the baking pan and bake in the middle of the oven for 20-25 minutes or until the sides are lightly bronzed. Set aside to cool completely.
For the Streusel
- Use 1/2 batch 5-Minute Streusel Topping Recipe. Half-batch ingredients and quantities are in the Recipe Card Notes section of the Streusel post. Streusel tutorial includes step-by-step recipe instructions. Stir in the almonds and then let streusel topping chill in the fridge while you assemble the cookies.
For the Five-Spice Prune Jam
- To make the jam, add the fresh prunes, water, orange zest, orange juice brown sugar, five-spice powder and almond extract to a high-speed blender or food processor and pulse until smooth. Set aside.
To Assemble
- Spread the jam evenly over the cooled crust. Sprinkle the streusel evenly over the top and bake in center of the oven for 30 minutes or until golden. Set aside to cool
For the Vanilla Bean Glaze
- While the cookie bars cool, in a small bowl whisk together the powdered sugar, cream and vanilla. The drizzle will be thick, add only enough cream so that it drizzles, but not so much that it’s thin. Once the bars have cooled, drizzle over the tops and serve!
Notes
*The cookie crust can be mixed using a pastry blender or your fingers.
*If you don't have cornstarch, replace with more all-purpose flour.
*The crust, streusel and jam can all be made 1-2 days ahead of assembling and baking. Store separately until ready to use.
Thanks for baking with me! Please rate + comment this recipe and tag me on social @displacedhousewife #displacedhousewife so I can see your beautiful treats! xo