These seductive layered confections store well in the refrigerator or freezer and make delicious gifts.
Ingredients
- FLOUR MIX INGREDIENTS
- 1½ cups rice-based gluten-free flour
- ½ teaspoon fine sea salt
- ½ teaspoon baking powder
- LIQUID MIX INGREDIENTS
- 4 tablespoons unsalted butter, cut up, plus extra for pan
- 1 cup creamy natural peanut butter
- 2 tablespoons grape seed oil or other mild vegetable oil
- 1 large egg
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 6 tablespoons light brown sugar
- FILLING INGREDIENTS
- ½ cup blueberry jam
- ½ cup frozen blueberries, preferably tiny ones
- ¼ cup sliced almonds
Directions
Preheat the oven to 350° F. Butter the sides of an 8-inch square pan and line the base and two sides with a sheet of parchment paper, leaving a short overhang on each side.
Whisk the flour ingredients together, and reserve. Combine the peanut butter, oil, egg and vanilla in a small bowl, stir until smooth, and set aside.
Put the butter and sugar in a food processor and blend until smooth. Add the egg-peanut butter mixture and process until creamy. Add the flour mixture and blend long enough to form very crumbly dough. Turn out into a large bowl.
Tip half the dough (about 11 ounces) into the lined pan and pat flat. Spread the jam. Cover with the blueberries in an even layer. Mix the almonds into the remaining dough, and scatter evenly on top of the blueberries. Press down very lightly. Bake until golden, about 35 to 40 minutes.
Let cool completely in the pan and then refrigerate, covered, overnight. This step makes clean, even slicing much easier.
Loosen the unlined sides of the baked and chilled mixture with a knife blade. Using a large spatula and the paper overhang, transfer to a work surface. Cut into 16 squares. Slice each square in half to make 32 bars.
Nutrition Analysis: 120 cal, 7 g fat, 10 mg chol, 80 mg sodium, 11 g carbs, 1 g fiber, 5 g sugar, 2 g protein.
The author of more than a dozen cookbooks to date, Gluten-Free Living Contributing Editor Jackie Mallorca’s titles include The Wheat-Free Cook and Gluten-Free Italian.
