Cornmeal Strawberry Jam Squares
This is one of my favorite recent creations. Cornmeal is, in my opinion, a highly underrated ingredient in baking. It’s got a really subtle flavor and provides just the right amount of texture when you mix it with the right ratio of AP flour. Grating your dough instead of pressing it into the pan is essential. You’ll end up with a super light, textured base and you won’t regret the extra effort, I promise. So, this buttery cornmeal base is like an elevated, fortified shortbread, and it sandwiches a layer of sweet strawberry jam. I personally find storebought strawberry jam a smidge too sweet, so I thin mine out with lemon juice for this recipe- it adds a pleasant tartness. If you’re happy with the flavor of your jam already, just use a bit of hot water instead.
Ingredients
160g AP flour
100g cornmeal
1 large egg
1.5 tsp vanilla extract
1/4 tsp salt
60g white sugar
30g brown sugar
120g soft, unsalted butter
1/2 cup strawberry jam
2 tbsp lemon juice
powdered sugar for dusting
Directions
In a medium bowl, cream together the butter and sugar until light.
Whisk in the egg, vanilla, and salt.
Sift in the flour and cornmeal and mix until fully incorporated.
Tip your dough out onto a lightly floured work surface and knead gently until smooth, no more than a minute or so.
Shape it into a thick log, wrap in plastic, and freeze until completely hard, at least 3 hours.
When the dough is completely frozen, preheat your oven to 375F
In a small bowl, thin your strawberry jam with the lemon juice (or hot water) one tablespoon at a time, tasting in between.
Unwrap your frozen dough and use a box grater to grate it directly into an 8x8” baking dish. You can redistribute the shreds gently with your fingers, but don’t press down.
Once the bottom is completely covered and you’ve used about half the dough, spoon your strawberry jam over the top, again not pressing down, it will not perfectly cover every inch, that’s okay.
Grate the remaining half of the dough over the top of the jam.
Bake for 30-35 minutes or until the top is very lightly golden.
Let it cool, dust with powdered sugar, and cut into bars or squares to serve. Enjoy!
