The baseline is clear: these brownies are very, very good. But at what temperature?
Starting with some seedless raspberry preserves left after a cake proved disappointing, Michelle decided jam might be delicious if layered between shortbread and brownies. Adapting an Alice Medrich recipe, she produced a marvelous combination of crispy short crust, fudgy brownie topping and tartly sweet jam in between. Fairly simple to make, Michelle thinks they would likely work with other jam flavors such as apricot, cherry or strawberry.
After sampling a bit of the very rich brownies, we froze the rest to enjoy later. That’s when the temperature question arose. Michelle let the brownies sit out for a while to bring them to room temperature, believing that (or slightly warmed from a few seconds in the microwave) is when the flavors are at their best. Steve likes to eat the brownies right out of the freezer. That way they’re less sticky, have a chewy, fudgy texture he enjoys, and best of all: no waiting.
We both have our opinions. But, delayed or instant, we agree these brownies will certainly give you gratification.
(adapted from Alice Medrich’s Bittersweet) Shortbread crust ingredients: Brownie ingredients: Position rack in middle of oven and preheat to 350° F. Line an 8″ square pan with two sheets of aluminum foil at right angles. Make crust by combining melted butter, sugar, vanilla and salt in a medium bowl. Stir in flour with a wooden spoon to make a dough. Pat crust into pan, building slightly up sides. Sprinkle nuts over and press into crust. Bake for about 15 minutes until starting to brown all over. Remove from oven and place on a cooling rack. When slightly cooled, pour preserves over and spread evenly with the back of a spoon. Make brownie topping: Place chocolate and butter in a heatproof bowl set in a wide skillet over simmering water (or use a double boiler). Stir frequently until melted and smooth. Remove bowl from heat and stir in sugar, vanilla and salt. Add eggs one at a time, stirring until incorporated. Then stir in flour and beat with a wooden spoon until smooth and glossy. Scrape brownie batter into pan, being careful not to dislodge the raspberry preserves, and smooth it out. Bake for 20 to 25 minutes until top is starting to show cracks. Let cool completely on a cooling rack, then remove from pan by lifting the edges of the foil. Cut into serving pieces. These freeze well.RASPBERRY JAM SHORTBREAD BROWNIES
Gourmandistan 
That looks incredible!!
Thank you! They were quite tasty.
I adore shortbread and never thought to combine it with brownies, I love these!
I’m not sure I’d ever done it before myself, but I remembered seeing recipes for it. Sort of like brownie lemon squares, right?
From the new post email, my brain thought, “Scalding red jam” but your picture showed me an intense brownie that I must taste now! 😉
Ha! Just make sure you cool them down a bit.
Oh, I love your flavor combinations here. Michelle, jam and raspberries – rich chocolate and sweet fruit – sounds like a winner. Using unsweetened chocolate in the brownie base adds such earthiness and depth of “cocoa” notes. Sometimes I like to add a pinch of finely ground espresso flavor to further enhance the chocolate forward flavor of decadent brownies, such as yours. It’s funny, I became hooked on the most amazing raspberry preserves (La Vieja Fabrica), seeded, which I ate daily when I lived in Spain on pan integral. They are mildly sweet and boast an unadorned, simply raspberry flavor. I now order them online and will have to get to making these brownies (which are, by the way, possibly my favorite food. I’ll eat a brownie or two for lunch!)
I’ll have to look for those. The only brand I ever find (and even that is rare) is British, Wilkin & Sons. I always buy it when I see it, but now, for the life of me, I can’t recall where I found it the last time.
Michelle, these look delicious. Though I think that Steve is a bit of a pig, eating them straight out of the freezer. It smacks of ‘competitive advantage eating
‘to me.
Great job.
Best,
C
Indeed! Thanks, Conor.
These look divine! Just made some raspberry cheesecake brownies. Now I can use the rest of my preserves to make these :).
Yes! But send me some of those cream cheese ones…
Even without your 2 additional layers, these brownies would look seducingly good. With shortbread and raspberry, these are beyond fantastic!
Thanks, Sabine! That is really a candy-like brownie (for which I thank Alice Medrich).
Wahhh… Gorgeous ! At what T° ? Hu, not very hot, not very cold ;-D
🙂
Wow–what a yummy-sounding combination! I think I may just need to conduct my own experiment here, regarding the perfect temp for eating these . . .
Science is important. 😉
Ever since I ate my first shortbread in Scotland, I’ve been smitten. Never thought of combining them with jam and brownies. Quite genius! Leave it to Alice Medrich to figure that out. That classic crackly crust on your brownie looks good enough to be eaten right off the screen
Medrich is the best! I hope she’d approve of the jam addition.
Ohhh!! I like this ：P
😀
That looks really good. But it’s too much measuring. 😉
Oh, you macho savory chefs…
Measuring is for chicks.
Oh, love these combinations! Jam and brownies?! Too good! And with the shortbread, it probably hits all the right notes, texture-wise. I think I’d enjoy these cold 🙂
Ah, one in Steve’s camp!
Michelle, what a gorgeous treat! I always find a thin shortbread crust a delight (you know, proper patisserie cakes), so these must be the worlds best brownies. N.
I’m not the world’s biggest chocolate fan. It’s good, of course, but not what I usually crave. The shortbread does make it more up my alley!
Fantastic! I love these, the flavours sound delicious. And I love the way you’ve incorporated the raspberry flavour.
Thanks, Nick! I really, really wish there were still some of these around…
I’m definitely going to give these a whirl, but it will have to be with another preserve because I can’t grow raspberries in our intense heat. Maybe with a wild fruit preserve? YUM!
Ah, too bad about the raspberries, but I bet most any preserve would be delicious. It probably does need to be a rather thick one, though, so as not to completely bleed everywhere.
Thanks for the heads-up, Michelle … I’ll think about this one!
Look at that moist filling, this looks really good!
Thanks, Raymund. These brownies are quite, quite fudgy. Really candy-like.
Thata even better
These look AMAZING. Seriously, what a genius idea – jam shortcake and brownie in one! I’m definitely trying them for a friend’s upcoming wedding kitchen tea. She’s a brownie fiend 🙂
Aaaw, thanks! These were really good. Alas, our freezer is now bare…
I swear that I’m getting fat just looking at these.
It happens. 😉