This falls newest taste sensation? Meet Spiced Plum Crumble Bars! Sweet, juicy spiced plums sandwiched between 2 layers of buttery, brown sugar, oat crumble mix. All baked to chewy perfection. This is fall snacking perfection.
Get these bars on your weekend (or weeknight) baking list this week! You’re gonna want to be making lots of these crumble bars.
Before we get into the why’s and wherefore’s of these bars let me just do some basic housekeeping. I’ve been away from this space quite a bit recently. There’s been a lot going on behind the scenes and I’m glad to be back here. There may be more unplanned absences (I hope not) but for now, I’m here and I’m loving being back. There will be more personal posts eventually explaining and sharing a lot, but for now. I’m here and I’m loving chatting and sharing recipes with you all again. Especially these spiced plum crumble bars.
Crumble Bar Necessities
- soft light brown sugar- anything else will make these crumble bars too sweet and cloying
- butter- you can use margarine if that’s all you’ve got, but the butter gives these bars a simple richness that marg just can’t manage.
- oats- jumbo rolled oats will give you the best texture here. Mostly any oats will do, just skip the quick cooking oats. They’ll give these bars a mealy unpleasant texture.
Normally, I’d specify what kind of plum you should be using for these. But here’s the deal. I was had at my local grocery store. I bought “ripe, juicy plums” according to the package. What I got where stones that were so tart they actually made my face pucker. And I love tart fruit.
But I tossed those plums right in that pan. With sugar, and all the cozy fall spices, of course! And it made the most amazing spiced plum jam. So, it was a no-brainer to make these crumble bars.
For me, a crumble bar is more crumble than fruit. I’m pretty obsessed with any kind of streusel-style topping and although I love this plum filling, I don’t want it dripping down my chin when I need one of these bars. So, here’s how I manage that situation.
Assembling the crumble bars
- Take 3/4 of your oat crumble and press it into the bottom of your baking tray. Make sure the tray is lined with baking paper. I just use my fingers to press that crumble evenly into the corner and the bottom of the pan.
- Spread the jam over the crumble and make sure you get it into those corners.
- Gently toss the remaining crumble topping over the top of the fruit filling. No need to press it down. Just toss and leave.
- What you’re looking for when you make these bars, is that the topping is golden and the jam is just starting to bubble up around the edge of the pan like some hot, fruity, spiced plum lava.
Oh, yeah. This crumble topping is a breeze to make in a food processor too. So, there’s no need for these bars to take longer than 30 minutes to make!
So you’ve got every reason to make these spiced plum crumble bars this week! 3,2,1…. go!!!!
THANKS SO MUCH FOR READING AND COOKING ALONG WITH ME! IF YOU MAKE THIS RECIPE OR HAVE A QUESTION, I’D LOVE IT IF YOU LEFT A COMMENT AND A RATING. YOU CAN ALSO FOLLOW ALONG ON PINTEREST, FACEBOOK AND INSTAGRAM TO SEE WHAT WE’RE EATING, PINNING AND A LITTLE BEHIND THE SCENES TOO!
Spiced Plum Crumble Bars
Ingredients
For the spiced plums
- 8 medium plums cut into chunks
- 1/2 cup light brown sugar
- 1 tsp cinnamon
- 1 star anise
For the oats
- 2 1/2 cups jumbo rolled oats
- 1 1/4 cups all purpose plain flour
- 1 cup butter cut into cubes
- 1 cup light brown sugar
Instructions
- In a medium sauce pan over a medium heat, cook the plums, sugar and spices until the plums are soft and starting to lose their shape. A thick jam like consistency is what you’re looking for. Once fully cooked and thickened, set aside to cool. Remove the star anise from the jam.
To make the oats
- In a food processor place the rolled oats, flour, butter and brown sugar. Pulse to blend the oats until a butter crumbly mixture forms. You should be able to form balls of crumble by squeezing the mixture in your hands.
- Preheat your oven to 350f and line a 9x9 square metal baking tray with baking paper.
- Press 3/4 of the oat mixture into the baking pan and press firmly using your fingers. Spread the cooled jam over the oat mixture and gently top with the remaining crumble topping.
- Bake in the preheated oven for about 20-25 minutes. The jam should be bubbling up the side of the pan when cooked. Leave to cool before cutting into 20 bars.
These bars are everything!!
Thanks, Natasha! JT insists that there’s some in the fridge at all times right now!