Three layer bars of scrumptiousness. Almond shortbread is topped with with a sort of blueberry and rose jam which is itself topped with an easy to make almond and chocolate caramel. These blueberry and rose almond shortbread bars are sweet, sticky, fruity and wonderfully textured.
There was nothing for it, with a fridge load of blueberries in need of using up, I just had to do some baking. Interrogating my books, via Eat Your Books, two recipes appealed: Dan Lepard’s blueberry almond bar from Short and Sweet and blueberry streusel muffins from Tea with Bea. It was a tough choice, but in the end Dan won out.
Blueberry and Rose Almond Shortbread
Shockingly, chocolate did not feature in this recipe, so I added some. I also decided to cook the blueberries in rose syrup, as I’d recently made another batch. I upscaled the recipe too as I didn’t have the required 20 cm tin.
This blueberry and rose almond shortbread recipe is a three stage process. Firstly you need to make a sort of easy blueberry jam concoction. As stated above, I simmered the blueberries in rose syrup. But instead of using cornflour to thicken the jam, I used arrowroot. I really like arrowroot, it fulfils the same sort of function as cornflour, but it’s actively good for you. Win win.
Then you make the almond shortbread. It’s not really shortbread as you don’t need eggs for that and this mixture contains an egg. But shortbread is a sort of shorthand for a biscuity texture that people understand. It’s made with ground almonds as well as flour.
The third layer is a sort of chocolate and almond caramel. It’s flavoured with almond extract and also contains flaked almonds.
The blueberry and caramel mixtures amalgamated completely during cooking, which was a little disappointing. But that was where the disappointment ended. They tasted fruity and the almond shortbread base was delicious and just the right texture, with the caramel adding just the right amount of sweetness.
Remarkably some of these blueberry and rose almond shortbread bars survived for several days and the last ones tasted just as good as the first.
Other Blueberry Recipes You Might Like
- Blueberry kefir smoothie
- Blueberry, rose & white chocolate cake
- Caramelised blueberry blondies
- Sugar-free blueberry & lemon cupcakes
- Vegan blueberry muffins
- White chocolate & blueberry flapjacks
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Thanks for visiting Tin and Thyme. If you try these blueberry and rose almond shortbread bars, I’d love to hear about it in the comments below. Have you any top tips? Do share photos on social media too and use the hashtag #tinandthyme, so I can spot them.
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Choclette x
Blueberry and Rose Almond Shortbread – The Recipe
- Wash 300g blueberries and put them in a pan.
- Add 100ml of rose syrup and 25g caster sugar.
- Bring the mixture to a gentle simmer.
- Mix 3 tsp of arrowroot in about 40ml water.
- Add this and stir well, continuing to simmer for about 5 minutes, until the mixture has thickened and is a deep blue in colour.
- Sift 180g flour (80g spelt, 100g white) into a bowl with ¾ tsp baking powder.
- Add 60g ground almonds and 75g golden caster sugar (I used cardamom sugar).
- Cut 110g unsalted butter into pieces and rub into the flour with your fingertips.
- Add 1 large egg (I used a duck egg) and mix.
- Pour into a 23cm square tin lined with baking parchment and press it flat.
- Pour 50ml milk into a small pan.
- Add 2 tsp honey, 100g light brown sugar, 75g flaked almonds, 25g ground almonds and a drop of almond extract.
- Bring mixture to a simmer and cook for a few minutes until thickened slightly.
- Take off the heat and add 30g dark chocolate.
- Spoon the blueberry compote over the biscuit base.
- Spoon the almond caramel over the blueberries.
- Bake in a preheated oven at 180℃ (350℉, Gas 4) for 30 minutes. Allow to cool in the tin, then cut into 12 squares.
excellent this bars. Something very original. I am bookmarking this. Ciao!
lush :-)Was flicking through Short & Sweet yesterday…
These look awesome!!!
They look lovely, it’s great how you’ve adapted them to include the flavours you enjoy. I remember making these when the recipe first appeared in the Guardian but I didn’t blog them as I didn’t get a decent photograph. Must remake and blog because they were great. I had a disaster with the topping though (although I can’t quite remember why, and obviously I wasn’t using almonds). Hmm, I really must look at this recipe again ASAP, thanks for the reminder!
I love how you manage to add chocolate to everything 🙂 These look gorgeous – I love the sound of blueberry and rose, a combination I’ve never tried before.
I really love the sound of the almondy caramel topping the blueberry compote as well as a shortbread base. You are so good at creating new ideas I just wish I could try them all out. Rose syrup with the blueberries must be amazing!
That shiny topping looks amazing…bet it tasted amazing too!
so glazey and shiny and sticky and just so bloody drool-worthy… need it need it need it NOW!!!… plus, adding the chocolate has taken them a level about perfection!
Sticky and fruity squares get always my attention. These look tempting, fruity topping with a hint of chocolate, of course. I like Dan Lepard recipes too.
Another delicious bake, your blueberry bars look lush. A perfect treat x
Oh yum, they look very nice and squidgey…x
i’m sure the chocolate made all the difference!
This sounds lovely! What a great combination of flavours!
Yes I quite agree, when there is a fridge full of berries your only option is to bake ;0)
And I like how you added chocolate too, for everything is a million times better with this addition. They do sound like a lovely flavor combo.