Vegan Lingonberry Bars

I was craving Linzer torte over spring break (a fantastic dessert that is, when I make it, essentially just raspberry jam in almond crust) but to my dismay I had NO RASPBERRY JAM. And this isn't even a case of me being lazy, I promise! It was 10pm, the grocery store was definitely closed, and I obviously could not wait until morning, so I decided to poke around my house for a substitute. It came down to three choices: raspberry jelly (no way it could ever be as good as jam, and likely would yield depressing results); blackberry jelly (the flavors from blackberry could've been fun here, as I like to consider them the raspberry's more intense dark lipstick-wearing sister, but again, jelly<jam); and lingonberry jam (one of many impulse purchases from Ikea simply due to the amount of fun I have poorly attempting say Swedish words- has anyone been looking for a Stenstorp or Förhöja? I know I have). Although I had no idea what the lingonberry was, let alone its flavor, I knew it was jam so it had to be at least slightly promising. To my surprise and delight, the jam tasted like a mixture between raspberry and cranberry! A+. Since I was already using a new flavor, I decided to be crazy and change up the crust as well, which let to my discovery of a recipe for vegan walnut crust. Perfect. By the by, the crust is so simple and delicious, I may or may not have eaten the majority of the first batch and had to make another for the topping.

Bars (adapted from Love and Lemons)

- 4 tbsp. coconut oil (hard)

- 1 c. flour

- 1 c. walnuts

- 1/2 c. brown sugar

- 1 tsp. cinnamon

- 1 tsp. salt

- 1/3+ c. lingonberry (but really, you could use any fruit!) jam

Preheat oven to 350° F and line a 5 x 7 (or equivalent size) pan with parchment paper. In a food processor, pulse together the coconut oil, flour, walnuts, brown sugar, cinnamon, and salt until it’s crumbly and moist. Take 3/4 of the mixture and press it into the bottom of the pan. Bake the crust for 10-15+ minutes or until the edges turn lightly golden brown. Remove from the oven and let cool. Add a bit of water to the remaining crumbly mix (it's about to become topping), and mix it gently with your fingers until thicker crumbs form. When your crust is cool, spread a generous layer of  jam, then add the topping. Bake for an additional 15-20 (but check it after 10) minutes. Let cool, then carefully lift out parchment and slice.