With a cake batter topping, layers of Bourbon Peach Cobbler Jam, and a cookie crust bottom studded with almond slices, these easy jam bars offer a bewitching combination of flavors and textures.
“Until I had peach cobbler jam bars, I thought chess bars were the ultimate bar cookie. I was wrong!” Joyce Pinson, Friends Drift Inn
Peach Cobbler Jam Bars Recipe At-A-Glance
Prep Time 20 Minutes Bake Time 25 minutes Total Time 45 minutes
Makes 16 Southern Peach Cobbler Jam Bars
Ingredients Friends Drift Inn Bourbon Peach Cobbler Jam – All-Purpose Flour – Unsalted Butter – Brown Sugar – Pure Cane Sugar, Eggs, Salt, and Amaretto liqueur for flavoring (Almond Extract could be substituted)
Equipment Hand Mixer or Stand Mixer is Helpful – Mixing Bowls and Measuring Utensils – 8 x 8 Brownie Pan
What Makes Southern Peach Cobbler Jam Bars So Special?
When you take a bite, this question will answer itself. This is the ultimate peach dessert recipe for casual entertaining!
Most jam bars have a brownie texture, firm with a little give. Peach Cobbler Jam Bars offer layers of textures. There is cake, jam, almonds, and a cookie crust. The almonds give an unexpected crunch. Like a chess bar topping, these bar cookies are soft textured and buttery.
Peach bars are more complex than your average jam bar or brownie.
The texture reminds me of the Charleston favorite, 82 Queen’s peach cobbler, which features a buttery cake top instead of the traditional biscuit crust I associate with cobbler recipes. (More about that later)
But hey y’all! Let’s not forget the crust is a cookie, with firmness and has an added crunch factor from almond slices pressed into the dough.
These are a triple threat, cake, jam, and cookie with almonds. You are going to love them!
Bourbon Peach Cobbler Jam
Friends Drift Inn Bourbon Peach Cobbler Jam is buttery and rich. Our peach jam has notes of peaches, brown sugar and bourbon. Baked into jam bars, the jam caramelizes a little, further intensifying the already concentrated peach flavors.
Bourbon Peach Cobbler Jam should taste like peaches! No high fructose corn syrup, no added food coloring and no preservatives.
Our jam makes these bars special!
Peach Jam Bars are Gooey, or Are They?
I confess. I had a hot date with Charlie and shot most of the pictures before the jam bars cooled.
Hot from the oven, these peach desserts ooze jam, are tender and crumbly, and taste oh so good!
When allowed to cool, they cut more cleanly, the jam stays mostly in place, and the bars are firm enough to pack up. You are ready to make the rounds at your next picnic or family reunion.
At room temperature, these take on more of a chess bar consistency, very buttery with a soft crumb.
Give them a quick trip through the microwave (say 5 – 10 seconds) to get the jam warmed and gooey for a true peach cobbler experience.
How Easy Are Southern Peach Cobbler Jam Bars to Make?
Y’all these are so easy.
It takes two bowls if you are fussy, but frankly because you bake the cookie dough crust before you add the jam and cake batter, you can just rinse the mixer bowl and use again.
The two hardest parts of this recipe are spreading the jam and waiting for these bar cookies to cool enough to pop in your mouth.
I cannot help you with self-control, but jam is kind of my thing.
This is a great recipe for cooking with kids.
Our jams are thick. I did not have any trouble spreading peach jam on the cookie crust the minute it came out of the oven. But you absolutely could warm the measured peach cobbler jam in the microwave or on the stovetop, loosening the set just a little.
Peaches Love Almonds – A Flavor Pairing to Remember
Peaches are loving fruits, they pair with almonds, bourbon, brandy, butter, sorghum, and mascarpone. They cuddle up with a lot of compatible flavors.
But their very favorite duet is sung with almonds. Peaches and almonds are kissing cousins if you will. Each comes from the Prunus persica class. So, there is a natural affinity for their relationship.
We magnified the intensity of the almond profile in this jam bar recipe with Amaretto. A lovely warm and rich after-dinner liqueur, the almond based flavorings shine through.
Amaretto and the addition of sliced almonds gently patted into the cookie dough base, give the peaches an extra boost of flavor – and of course sliced almonds gives a crunch that contrasts nicely with the buttery smoothness of peach jam.
Can I Freeze Peach Jam Bars?
Yes buddy! These freeze up nicely. Just place in a zip lock bag and seal. They should last about a month if no one knows you have stashed them. Giggles
To serve, I prefer them either at room temperature or rewarmed in the microwave for 15 seconds. (That makes the jam flowing! )
If you are feeling industrious make up a batch of Strawberry Jam Bars too!
Serving Suggestions for Peach Jam Bars
These bars are rich! Like a hot peach cobber, you could serve a small dollop of ice cream on the top. A little mascarpone cheese would be an unexpected treat.
Strew sliced almonds across the plate for visual interest.
Serving cocktails? Peach and bourbon beg to be together. These jam bars are delicious with bourbon cocktails! Try Peach Jam Bourbon Sweet Tea for a summer kick!
These bars are fancy enough for a tea party. But served with a steaming cup of coffee topped off with a splash of Amaretto…well wow!
Perfect for family game night or bridge with the girls.
You could serve with a shake of powdered sugar or a pastry glaze, but I think that is overkill.
Savor these peach jam bars just as they are!
Grandma’s Peach Cobbler vs The Southern Peach Cobbler
What is your favorite memory of a cobbler?
For me, there are two very distinct types. Momma made cobblers like Grandma Clara. That meant a rustic deep dished pie, baked in a cast iron skillet with a biscuit crust.
If we were expecting company, the bottom crust was biscuit, and the top crust might have been worked into a fancy lattice.
Until I was in my fifties, I did not know you could make a cobbler without a cast iron skillet!
Enter Charleston, South Carolina. That trip ruined me! I had never seen a cobbler that was topped with cake batter.
At 82 Queen, a short jaunt from the famed Husk Restaurant, they served peach cobbler with a cake batter topping lavished with a nutty streusel crumble. It rocked my world.
Whether you grew up with a skillet cobbler or a cake batter peach cobbler, when you serve these jam bars warm it will give you pause and applause.
It is like a slice of peach cobbler – without all the fuss!
The universe is big enough for all kinds of cobblers. Give these jam bar cookies a try!
Choose Your Jams!
Southern Peach Cobbler Jam Bars Recipe
- Prep Time: 20 Minutes
- Cook Time: 25 Minutes
- Total Time: 45 Minutes
- Yield: 16 1x
- Category: Desserts
- Method: Bake
- Cuisine: American
Description
Inspired by 82 Queen’s southern peach cobbler, peach jam bars feature a top cake layer, followed by rich peach jam, almonds and a cookie crust. Like chess bars, the texture is soft and buttery.
Ingredients
For Cookie Dough Crust
- ½ cup (1 stick) organic Unsalted Butter, room temperature
- 2/3 cup of Brown Sugar
- 1 ¼ cup of All-Purpose Flour, whisked and spooned into measuring cup
- ½ teaspoon of Amaretto liqueur (could substitute almond extract but will not be the same)
- ¼ cup of Almond Slices
For Top Layers including Cake and Jam
- 1/2 cup (1 stick) organic Unsalted Butter, room temperature
- 2/3 cups of Pure Cane Sugar
- 2 large Eggs, organic preferred
- 1 teaspoon of Amaretto liqueur (see above)
- 2/3 cup of All-Purpose Flour, whisked and spooned into measuring cup
- 1/8 teaspoon Salt
- ¾ cup of Friends Drift Inn Bourbon Peach Cobbler Jam, warmed
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350.
- Line an 8 x 8-inch brownie pan with aluminum foil. (Leave a generous amount of foil around the edges for handles)
- Grease foil with extra butter or cooking spray.
- For cookie crust, cream the butter and brown sugar together with a mixer.
- Slowly add flour and amaretto. Dough will be thick with body.
- Press dough into prepared brownie pan, making sure to get dough into the corners.
- Scatter almond slices and pat in.
- Bake 10 minutes at 350. Set timer.
- For cake batter, cream butter and sugar in large bowl.
- Mix in eggs and Amaretto.
- Slowly add flour and salt. The mixture will be creamy and light.
- Warm jam if you want.
- Pull cookie crust out of oven.
- Move the oven setting up to 375.
- Spread jam on cookie base. I used an offset spatula. Just make sure you get the peach jam well distributed, especially in the corners.
- Using a big mixing spoon drop cake batter randomly over the top surface. Smooth gently.
- I generally lift the pan about three inches off the table and drop it on the surface just to make sure all the layers are melding.
- Pop in the 375 oven for 25 minutes, turning once through the cycle to assure an even browning.
- Remove from oven. I usually use the foil “handles” to lift the entire cake out of the pan for cooling. Because peach cobbler jam bars are delicate, use caution lifting out. These tend to crack.
- Serve hot and gooey or allow to cool. Slice into 16 squares.
Notes
About whisking flour, it is just easier to whisk flour in the bag and softly spoon out the measured amount than using another bowl just to whisk in.
These bars should be refrigerated if not serving hot. Will keep several days in the fridge if you don’t tell anyone where you hid them!
These freeze just fine if stored properly.
This recipe was specifically designed around Friends Drift Inn Bourbon Peach Cobbler Jam. We cannot predict another products performance with this recipe.
Keywords: peach dessert recipe, jam bars, peach cobbler jam, peach jam
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