Jams from fall still stock the pantry, and this recipe utilizes any to satisfaction.  Aside from grill glazes and jam on bread, food creativity with tasty preserves can grow to be a challenge by spring.  This recipe makes jam or jelly canning in the autumn months seem worthy of the effort, making a ‘healthy’ desert or tasty snack  to pick up and savor any time of day.

Our jam canning utilizes the gamut of fruit grown and gathered in our high mountain climate: plums, cherries and pears from our own yard, apricots from rogue trees on public land, peaches from friends with orchards overflowing, strawberries and rhubarb from the ever growing patch.   Any of these work well for this recipe.

For preserves, I promise myself each summer that only fruit I can gather for free, barter for our garden goods or be given will make the canning cut.  Buying a box of fresh organic fruit for preservation simply cancels the cost and reason for canning itself.  We use three options: barter, grow or gather.

Fruit Bars with Preserves, Recipe

We’ve created many different fruit bars from this recipe, amenable to just about any pint of choice preserves.  Generally jam has done the trick: plum, apricot, peach, maple-apple, rhubarb and berry varieties have all been used with success in this simple recipe.

1 pint fruit preserve filling

1 c flour

1 c whole oats

2/3 c brown sugar

1/4 t baking soda

1/2 c butter

~Combine all dry ingredients in a bowl and mix well; cut butter into flour mixture with a pastry blender until resembling course sand.

~Reserve 1/2 cup pastry mixture and set aside; with remaining pastry mixture, spread on bottom of an ungreased 9 x 9 ” baking dish or pan; press down with hands to make one even layer.

~Top first layer evenly with fruit preserve filling of choice; sprinkle remaining pastry mixture on top of fruit.

~Bake at 375 degrees for 30 minutes or until fruit bubbles and top begins to brown.

~Allow to cool fully, then cut into 2″ x 2″ squares and serve.

~Love from our pantry kitchen to yours!  Georgina @ Soul & Stomach~