Thursday, July 31, 2008

Fruit Squares


Man am I tired! I thought this would be a simple cookie but I ended up spending the better part of an evening rolling out the dough and making the crisscross design. The dough was softer than I had hoped and therefore a bit tricky. I even chilled it first and still it sometimes stuck. Despite my whining, it was all worth it in the end. The final baked product was fantastic. Two other highlights: I got to use a jar of my mom's homemade apricot jam (prepared during her canning phase, which I think she might now have moved on from), plus any recipe by Beatrice Ojakangas is a winner.


Fruit Squares
Recipe from The Finnish Cookbook by Beatrice Ojakangas

Crust
3 cups white flour
1 cup sugar
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 cup soft butter
3 eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla

Filling
1 cup plum, blackberry, raspberry, blueberry, or apricot jam
2 tablespoons sugar

Combine the flour, sugar, and baking powder in a large bowl. Blend in the butter with a fork until the mixture resembles fine crumbs. Add the eggs and vanilla and work into a stiff dough. Reserve one-third of the dough. On a well-floured board, roll out the balance of the dough into a rectangle about 12 by 16 inches and 1/4-inch thick. Place the dough on a lightly greased baking sheet and spread the jam evenly over it. Roll out the reserve dough to 1/8-inch thickness and cut in 1/2-inch strips; place these in crisscross fashion over the jelly to make a diagonal pattern. Sprinkle the 2 tablespoons sugar over the top. Bake in a moderately hot oven (375 degrees F) for 20 to 30 minutes. Cut into 1- by 2-inch rectangles. Makes about 80 cookies.


Step-by Step in Pictures






3 comments:

Unknown said...

these are beautiful!!!

Anonymous said...

Apricots and buttery, short pastry _ a match made in heaven. These look so yummy, I wish I could reach into the photo and pull one out to nibble on!

Marni said...

ctjhia - you are toooo kind. thanks. :)

carolyn - i do love apricot desserts! and since this recipe was on the trickier side, i decided to freeze a bunch of them to pull out and nibble on...later! it will be awhile before i muster up enough patience to make them again.

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