Strawberry Jam Bars With Cardamom Recipe (2024)

Referencing the other recipes associated with the shortbread base, baking temp should be 350. I did 365 as my oven runs a bit cool. Delicious and easy recipe! Brought this to a picnic and received many compliments and recipe requests. Next time I want to try mixing the cardamom in the flour so the spice gets distributed more evenly.

Think I'll try the cardamom in my mom's old recipe for a cookie that looks like this. The method is much simpler: You melt the butter and mix the dough by hand - very easy. You don't prebake the bottom crust (would end up way too brown after double baking.) Just spread jam on the raw crust, crumble on the topping, and bake for 35 minutes at 350. The amount of butter in the dough makes greasing or lining the pan unnecessary in my experience. (Google "easy jam squares" for recipes like mine.)

After launching my Christmas cookie baking this year with the NYTCardamom-Walnut Crescents, I realized too late my ground cardamom was flavorless dust. I did not want to make the mistake with this recipe. In any case, my ground cardamom had since gone in the trash. I used 1 tsp of freshly ground green cardamom & found it to be the right amount. My husband who is from India & appreciates proper spices & spicing agreed. Watch out for old/expired/flavorless ground spices in your holiday baking!

What temperature should the oven be set for?

I have a full jar of peach preserves I’d like to get rid of. Could I use this instead of “red jam” and would peach + cardamom + lemon zest be too weird? ;-)

Based on other reviews, I doubled the cardamom and baked the base for 15 mins before adding toppings. With these adjustments, they turned out delicious and festive-looking, with great textures. I lined the pan with parchment as instructed, and the result was that the fruit jam adhered to the parchment as it baked. I spent too long attempting to peel parchment off the edges of the bake before giving up and cutting off the edges. To avoid, don't spread the jam all the way to the edges of the pan.

More cardamom, more jam

1 cup/230 grams is two sticks of butter.Sounds as though you may have misread the recipe.(No judgment, I did the same earlier this week where I only added 2 cups of flour to a recipe that calls for 2.5; luckily I caught the issue before baking.)

These are absolutely delicious. I didn’t have ground cardamom or strawberry jam on hand but I did have chai masala and red currant jam— perfect. I think you could get creative with a lot of different spice/jam combos and be very happy with the results. Super easy, even for a very scatterbrained baker like myself. I was very generous with the lemon zest and my friends all loved the added zing. Hardest part was protecting it from my husband for 1.5 hours as it cooled.

Made mine with cinnamon and raspberry jam. Wow, so delicious. I'm definitely adding this one to my holiday cookie collection.

So good! A few tweaks for next time: zest the lemon into the jam and mix before spreading; more pistachios

More jam, more cardamom

I used 3 medium egg yolks rather than 2 large egg yolks after having made a rather dry first batch. I also used a 9in. x 12in. metal pan and decreased the cooking time (22 minutes for first bake, 30 minutes for final bake) and they turned out to be the best of the bunch (I've made Sparkling shortbread and Salty Caramel & Peanut Butter cookies thus far). I used Lingonberry jam, lemon zest, and crushed pistachios. I may not have enough for the neighbors!

I made this today but increased cardamom and almost doubled the jam. ( add enough jam so it’s a thick layer) . Since my granddaughters school is nut free it was easy leaving out the nuts. And I forgot to add the zest. Cookies are great! Strong taste of cardamom and enough jam. Also made the basic cookie batch rolled in nonpareils since I already had them and the chocolate and flavored layer cookies using the other half batch and then another half.

metal conducts heat better. if you use glass you may wind up with an undercooked bottom or a burnt top

Double cardamom in the dough with the butter and sugar. As others have noted, double jam. But also double pistachios. I baked in a 9x9 metal pan because I like thicker bars. It’s a winner!

Like others, I added the cardamom to the flour and the zest to the jam. I agree with those recommendations. I thought it could use more jam and more nuts. I used pistachios, and didn’t really notice them. I would dial back or skip the cardamom unless you are a huge fan. I used only 1-1/2 tsps, which was the right amount for me. My kids were not fans of the taste. Also, I would cook the base layer for less time. It was quite firm.

Definitely increase the cardamom, I’d suggest ~1.5x the amount. I also increased the jam, I used an entire 9oz jar and felt it was just the right amount. Unfortunately, the initial pre-bake of the crust resulted in slightly burnt bottoms by the end (I followed bake times as written, and used an oven thermometer to ensure temperature accuracy). Next time I’d try what someone else suggested and just bake for 15 minutes before adding toppings.

One easy way to make these cookies is to divide the dough into several balls and roll each part into a thick, snake-like shape. Put the "snake" onto the cookie sheet and flatten somewhat. Along the length of the dough create a slight depression in the middle. Spread jam into the depression. Bake (350??). When the cookies are done, cut the "snake," now more flat, diagonally, into two-bite sized strips. This has the taste as the two-layer version but is easier to produce.

Heavenly with Bonne Mamam Four Fruit Preserves and chopped Pistachio nuts for a holiday treat!

Delicious cardamom pastry. I was a little generous with the cardamom based on comments by others (2.5 tsp). I didn't have strawberry jam so made my own from strawberries and honey. It was double the amount the recipe called for, so I have to second the others' recommendation to increase jam. It worked well. Used pistachios for the nuts. I think rhubarb jam or lemon curd would be great with this.

Beating/Mixer NOT necessary; and mixing by hand results in a more tender shortbread crust. Butter must be very soft.

So good! A few tweaks for next time: zest the lemon into the jam and mix before spreading; more pistachios

Can this bar be frozen or made in advance?

Some of the previous comments said the base may get overcooked following the recipe. I make shortbread frequently, and was a little concerned that it came out more brown than I would expect -- BUT it's one of my favorite things about these bars! The bottom crust softens slightly when rebaked with the toppings, resulting in a subtle snap to the bite (not at all crunchy or shatter-y). I also like that the jam as called for isn't too thick or gooey. Like a linzer cookie in bar form!

These are very tasty, and not complicated to make. But there is virtually no discernable cardamom flavor! I used the called-for amount of freshly ground cardamom and stirred it into the flour as others suggested. Next time I may try the extra step of first making a cardamom butter and using that (a trick I learned from a Samantha Seneviratne recipe elsewhere for cardamom-pistachio cookies).

This cookie is so delicious and buttery! Everyone who tasted it loved it. I try to use not-so-sweet jam and pistachios ,which really make it a very delicious cookie for people who don't usually like sweets.

For the filing instead if using jam, I cooked 500 grams (a generous pound) of red and black currants with 1/2 cup sugar and thickened it with 1 heaping tablespoon cornstarch. Delightful.

Great recipe. Changes I made: - Flax egg instead of actual egg- it worked, but not great, so I will try again with a real egg yolk. - Doubled the amount of nuts for the top - Omitted the cardamom, didn’t have any -Used a mixture of quince paste and jam - squeezed an orange slice rather than zest

Excellent and I adapted it by using my homemade Loquat (aka Japanese Plum) Jam! Because my Loquat Jam is extremely sweet, despite having Meyer Lemon juice & has fresh ginger in it, I added some ground ginger, ground cinnamon & a little dash of ground cayenne along with the ground cardamom to the reserved cup of crumble to give it some zip! I used toasted slivered Almonds for the nuts as Loquats remind me of small pears & the two compliment each other.