HARRISBURG, Pa. — Sometimes a person just needs a down-home treat like jelly.
After two days of elaborate baking contests featuring decadent chocolate cakes, creative apple pies, beautiful cookies and angel food cakes fit for royalty, it was time for some humble jelly-filled cookies at the 109th Pennsylvania Farm Show.
The Jam/Jelly Bar Contest, open to any Pennsylvania resident, required bakers to make bar cookies using jelly, jam or preserves as an ingredient. Use of commercial mixes was prohibited.
Sharon Kurtz of Emmaus, a first-place winner in the contest in past years, beat 16 other contestants with her “Blueberry Crumb Bars” to again win first prize, $200 and a blue ribbon.
Other winners were Terri Stewart of Altoona, second, $100 and a red ribbon; Matthew Brown of Lancaster County, third and a white ribbon; Amanda Harry of Mechanicsburg, fourth and a yellow ribbon; and Scott Felix of Alum Bank, fifth and a green ribbon.
In today’s hurry-up world, bar cookies have become increasingly popular because they can be made in one pan, which is much faster than forming individual cookies.
Lucas Doyle of Bellwood said he likes to make bar cookies because they let him use what he has on hand.
“I made Appleberry Bars with a shortbread top and bottom, homemade strawberry jam and some apple pie filling I had left after entering the Farm Show apple pie contest,” he said. “Then I drizzled white chocolate on the top.”
Harry, who lamented, “I always seem to win the fourth prize,” entered her raspberry jam bars with a shortbread top and bottom.
Her cookies only have seven ingredients — butter, sugar, vanilla, flour, salt, pecans and jam.
Harry did manage to edge out her mother, Mary Miller of Strongstown — a frequent Farm Show baking contest winner — who submitted her “Yummy Jam Bars.”
The two women frequently compete against each other, good-naturedly teasing each other but also rooting for the other’s victory.
“I garnished my cookies with fresh sweet cherries dipped in chocolate,” Miller said.
Stewart made apricot coconut pecan bars with a shortbread crust. Unlike the other bakers, she used a recipe she had never tried before.
“I’m excited to win,” said Stewart, who the day before won the Farm Show Homemade Chocolate Cake Contest.
Sharon Kurtz’s winning recipe:
Blueberry Crumb Bars
- 3-1/2 cups flour
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 1-1/2 cups light brown sugar
- 4 cups rolled oats
- 1 pound butter
- 1/4 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1 (16-ounce) jar blueberry jam
- 3 cups fresh blueberries
Sift flour, salt, cinnamon and baking soda together. Add brown sugar and oats. Mix until well-blended.
Cut butter into pieces, put in microwave-safe bowl and heat on high for 1 minute or until melted. Add vanilla to butter and mix until well blended.
Add butter mixture to crumb mixture. Reserve 3 cups of crumbs. Place the rest in a parchment-lined 9x13-inch pan. Press dough firmly into bottom of pan.
Bake at 350 F for 10 minutes, then remove from oven and spread blueberry jam evenly on hot crust. Place blueberries evenly on top of jam. Sprinkle reserved crumbs on top of blueberries.
Bake for 55 more minutes. Place on cooling rack until cool and cut into 2-inch squares.
