Berry Good Squares

I've never claimed to be much of a baker, or any kind of dessert maker really. I do like to make breads and pizza dough and such, but as for the baking at our house, my wife takes the reins. She's really good at it, and enjoys the process of following a recipe precisely, as is required for most baking recipes. My cooking method is more off the cuff and eyeball, so I think I'd have trouble coming up with my own baking dishes from scratch. Nevertheless, I recently tried my hand at making one of, if not my favorite sweet treat...Partridgeberry Squares.

For those of you who are not aware of what a partridgeberry is, this low bush growing tart berry is also referred to as a lingdonberry. If you've been to an Ikea, you may have been introduced to lingdonberries. They are similar in taste (i.e. tartness), colour (more purple/burgundy than red) and shape to cranberries, and I'm sure cranberries would be an excellent substitution in this recipe.

My mother often made Partridgeberry Squares for me when I was younger. I would request them, and in short order, I'd have them. With a tall glass of cold milk, and 2 or 3 of these wonderfully delicious tart crumbly squares, and I was in heaven. Last week I stumbled upon two small jars of Partridgeberry jam in my pantry, and I decided I was going to make these awesome treats. It could not have been easier to make. In fact, it was so easy, and I ate them so fast, I made a second batch using Maine blueberries (the low bush kind like in Newfoundland) for a Sunday night dessert.

Here it is.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees

Grease an 8 inch square pan with butter or cooking spray.

In a mixing bowl, add

1 cup of all-purpose flour
1 cup of brown sugar (light or dark)
1 cup of rolled oats
1/2 cup of butter (1 stick), chilled

Cut the butter into the dry ingredients until the mixture is crumbly (you may pulse in a food processor, but be sure to save the oats until the very end as to not disintegrate them)

Press half the mixture into the bottom of the 8 inch pan, spread with 1 1/2 cups of Partridgeberry jam (I also used Blueberry Jam with a little lemon juice and lemon zest), and top with remaining crumb mixture.

Bake for 30-35 minutes, until the top is light golden brown.

Let cool completely and cut into squares.

Enjoy as a snack or top with ice cream to make a great dessert!