Guava Oat Shortbread Bars

Guava has such a nice color.

When book club reads a book, We Need New Names, by NoViolet Bulawayo where guava is nearly a character of it’s own what does an Ohio woman do? Make an oaty shortbread bar that feature guava, of course.

Guava Oat Shortbread Bars

A twist on a shortbread. Use any tinned fruit or pie filling for a riff on a classic presentation.

For the Crust:

16 tablespoons unsalted butter

1/2 cup sugar

1 teaspoon kosher salt

2 cups flour

For the Topping:

21 ounce tin guava paste, sliced to 1/4 inch thick slices

8 tablespoons unsalted butter, diced

1 cup old fashioned oats

1/2 teaspoon kosher salt

1/2 cup light brown sugar

1 cup all-purpose flour

Recipe Steps

Preheat oven 350.

Use a 13x9 inch pan. Line with parchment, make a saddle using two pieces.

In a bowl of a stand mixer combine the butter, sugar and salt. Cream until the sugar is dissolved. Add the flour and bring to a thick mixture. Do not over mix.

Press evenly in the pan. I tamp it down using a small tool or the bottom of a small glass.

Cut the guava paste into strips and lay them on the dough side by side to cover the entire bottom of the pan evenly. Don’t worry about gaps so long as they are evenly spaced.

In a large bowl combine the butter, oats, salt, brown sugar and the flour. With your hands rub the ingredients together until it is cohesive and you can not see pieces of butter. You can also make the topping in a food processor but pieces get too fine for my preference. Pulse the ingredients together then proceed to the next step.

Evenly sprinkle the topping evenly over the guava slices.

Bake for about 40-45 minutes, until the topping has a golden hue.

Cool completely and cut into bars.

You can use any type of fruit, canned, fresh, or canned pie filling. This recipe is super versatile.