Pomegranate Raspberry and Thyme Shortbread Bars (or Don't Judge a Food by It's Photo)

For this month's Leftover's Club I was paired with Kim from Feed Me Seymour. Kim is a Freelance Journalist and you can tell from reading her Blog that the woman knows her stuff. Her photos are gorgeous and her writing flows beautifully.

I have to admit, I was a little (ok, maybe more than a little) intimidated to be paired with Kim. My writing and photography skills pale in comparison. I deliberated for quite a while about what to bake for her and after reading several of Kim's posts, I discovered that she doesn't really like fruit baked in her desserts (bummer), but she does like Pomegranates! Score (or so I thought!). I should have realized Pomegranates were not in season. Luckily, after searching high and low, I was able to find fresh Pomegranate arils at Sprouts!

I used the Pomegranate seeds to make this homemade Pomegranate Raspberry & Thyme Jam which I used as a filling for my favorite shortbread bars. Instead of using fresh Pomegranates, I used the fresh Pomegranate arils.

I've raved about these shortbread bars here. This is my absolute favorite shortbread bar recipe. The almond flour, sliced almonds (and plenty of butter of course) are simple perfection. The tartness of the Pomegranate and Raspberry along with the hint of lemon from the fresh Thyme pair really well with the buttery sweetness of the shortbread. This recipe only requires a few ingredients so make sure you use the best especially if you use store bought jam. Bonne Maman is one of my favorite brands. I really hope Kim enjoys these bars as much as I do!

If you're interested in joining The Leftovers Club, please sign up over at Food Ramblings. I've been a member of the club for several months now and I love receiving (and sending) goodies to fellow bloggers every month!

Now on to the recipe....I have to apologize for the horrible photo. I had a kitchen mishap while baking these bars and broke my lens so I had to use my phone : (  I promise to update with better photos as soon as I have them.

 

 

Pomegranate Raspberry & Thyme Shortbread Bars
Makes 12 Bars

Ingredients:
1 1/4 cups Pomegranate Raspberry & Thyme Jam
1 cup unsalted butter, softened
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1/2 cup golden brown sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 cups (minus 2 tablespoons) all purpose flour
1/2 cup almond meal

Directions:

Preheat oven to 325f

Line an 8" baking pan with nonstick foil or spray regular foil with nonstick spray.

In a small bowl, combine the flour and almond meal. Set aside.

Place the butter and sugars in the bowl of your electric stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment. Beat at medium speed until cream (approx. 1 1/2 minutes).

Add the vanilla and salt and mix just until combined.

Add the flour mixture and mix on low speed just until combined. Wrap half of the dough in plastic wrap and place in freezer. This part of the dough will be used for the crumb topping.

Press the remaining half of the mixture into the bottom of your prepared baking pan. Bake at 325 for approx. 15 minutes or until the edges are light golden brown. Remove from the oven and allow to cool for 10 minutes.

Gently spread the jam over the top of the crust being careful not to disturb the crust.

Crumble the remaining crust over the top of the jam and sprinkle with sliced almonds.

Return to the oven and continue to bake for another 30 minutes or until top is golden brown.

Remove from oven and allow to cool. Sprinkle with powdered sugar, slice into bars & serve.

Store leftovers tightly covered in an air tight container for up to 3 days.

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