strawberry and thyme crumb bars

On pinterest, I do a lot more of the pinning than the doing. But not today! I stumbled on something that looked too good to pass up (another way of saying I am incredibly bored, not that I don't have a million things to do). I saw this strawberry thyme crumb bar from une gamine dans la cuisine on my morning pinning spree. I have strawberry, I have thyme, and I have lots of time. I'm not usually a sweets person. When I am, it's usually a vanilla, not a berry.  I moved out of my baking phase after high school and have only done the occasional christmas cookie since, but something about this herby fruity deliciousness had a nostalgic pull to it. So after I realized that, in my efforts of procrastination, I forgot to pick up camp girl from goalkeeper training and take her to rowing camp, I got to work.

For my cookies I use bread flour. But somehow I've ended up with trop de bread flour. So, I used bread flour instead of regular flour. Let's see what that does.

I'd also like to take a second to rave about my egg guy.  He and his wife run Milagro farm in Red Rock, Texas; usually he has a vegetable to sell along with his eggs. Sometimes, another guy shows up at the farmer's market selling eggs. But my egg guy is better. On my first trip to the market his 5ish year old fille made me a ring made from a tie wrap. And it was great. Some Saturdays he's not there, and I get sad. But most of the time he's there. And it's his passion for his pasture raised chickens that I think give the eggs that extra something. Of course they're more expensive than the grocery store variety, but they really do fry, scramble, poach, bake way better than anything at even Whole Foods.

The recipe calls for strawberry preserves. I didn't have strawberry preserves. And I was not going to put on a bra to go to the store to buy some. I did however have this blueberry basil jam from confituras who happened to be at the farmer's market a few weeks ago. Blueberry is kinda like strawberry, right?

 Have I mentioned how much I love my Breville?

And then I remembered I had this. An impulse buy. I guess there's a reason Central Market puts the ice cream by the checkout counter. 

 And it was a perfect dash of cream the tart bar was craving.

Poor Beau. You can't have any strawberry thyme bars. You're a dog.

Credit where credit is due: une gamine dans la cuisine ... her photos are much better than mine.

strawberry + thyme crumb bars
makes about 30-34 bars

for the crust and crumb 
3/4 cup granulated sugar 
grated zest from one lemon (about 1 Tablespoon)
about 3 Tablespoons fresh thyme, chopped {Note: be sure to discard the sprigs.}
3 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
8 ounces (that's 2 sticks) unsalted butter, cold and cut into cubes
1 egg, lightly beaten

for the filling
1 cup strawberry preserves
3 1/2 cups fresh strawberries, hulled & chopped
1/4 cup granulated sugar (use more or less depending on the sweetness of the berries)
1 Tablespoon fresh lemon juice
2 teaspoons cornstarch

method
-Preheat the oven to 375 F. Line a 9x13-inch pan with foil, shiny side up - leave a slight overhang along the edges (this will make the bars easier to remove from the pan). Butter the foil. 

-Prepare the crust & crumb topping: In a large mixing bowl, combine the sugar, lemon zest, and thyme. 

-Use your fingers to rub the zest and thyme into the sugar until it becomes moist and aromatic. Whisk in the flour, baking powder, and salt. Add cold cubes of butter and beaten egg; use a pastry cutter to work the butter and egg into the dry ingredients. The mixture will be very crumbly but should hold together when pinched. 

-Press about half the mixture into the bottom of prepared pan. Spread jam over the crust - leaving about a 1/2-inch bare border around the edges. 
-In a separate large bowl, combine the strawberries, sugar, lemon juice, and cornstarch. Gently stir everything together. Distribute the berry mixture evenly over the jam and crust (it's okay if the berries touch the edges of the pan). 
-Sprinkle the remaining dough mixture over the berries. 
-Bake for 45 - 55 minutes or until the crumb topping turns very light brown - the berries should be bubbling slightly too. 
-Remove the pan from the oven and place it onto a cooling rack. Cool completely (about 5 hours) before slicing. Once the pan has reached room temperature you can place it in the refrigerator to cool off faster. Use the foil overhang to lift the bars out of the pan.