Last year, I tried a Rye Blueberry Bar recipe from King Arthur. The filling was horrible, as it seemed to be lacking enough liquid, and the cornstarch formed horrible clumps, which did not make for great taste. I gave it a 3 out of 5 stars because I thought the recipe had possibilities but was not ready for prime time. My review was one of the first, so it can be found near the end of the reviews. I noted that another person also had problems with the cornstarch forming clumps. Many other people raved about it. My husband thought that they were not bad. I liked the crumb topping and bottom but vowed never to make that filling again.
On Thursday, I decided to try the recipe again, but this time using the blueberry chia seed jam that I made on Saturday. I made the same changes to the crust as last time in that I used white whole wheat flour in place of the AP flour, replaced the ½ tsp. cardamom with ¼ tsp. allspice, which is my usual spice for a blueberry pie. I replaced 10 Tbs. butter with 1/3 cup avocado oil plus 2 Tbs. water. This time I used old-fashioned rather than quick oats, as I am hoping it will keep the crust and topping firmer for longer. I deleted the 2 tsp. of vanilla, although last time I used 1 tsp. in the crust. (Indeed, one sign that the recipe needed work was the 2 tsp. of vanilla in the crust and the 1 tsp. in the filling. When all else fails, cover it up with vanilla!) I baked it in an 8 x 8-inch glass baking dish.
We had some for dessert this evening, and we really like my version. It is just sweet enough but not overly sweet. I will definitely bake them again. They would likely work with a chia seed jam made from another kind of fruit, such as peaches or even with regular jam.
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