Happy Christmas! Hawaiian Gold Bars

 This recipe is sooo old.  How old?  It's written on a recipe card.  In an actual file box.  That's how old.  I've made it many times over the years, varying only the type of nuts I used and the kind of jam.  To be honest, the recipe was formerly named California Gold Bars, however we are no longer in the location of my birth.  For quite some time now, so a new name was in order.

A rich shortbread bar, the crunch of nuts, with preserves sandwiched in between two layers.  Quite good, if I do say so.  An added benefit is the seductive aroma drifting through your house, of butter and jam baking together.  If you happen to have a house for sale, you might put these into the oven and hold an open house.  Can you tell I'm married to a Realtor?  On to the recipe...

Hawaiian Gold Bars

1 cup brown sugar
1 cup butter (2 sticks)
1 egg
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 3/4 cup flour
1 cup chopped walnuts, or pecans or macadamia nuts
1/2 cup jam (I used a Starfruit Marmalade here)

Preheat oven to 325F

Beat together the sugar and butter until smooth.  Add egg and vanilla and beat until creamy and well combined.  Stir in the flour and nuts.  Spoon half the batter into a buttered 9" square pan, (as you may notice I used a 7 1/2 x 11 ") and spread evenly.  Spread the jam evenly over batter layer, then cover with the remaining batter.

Bake for 45-50 minutes at 325F or until a nice golden brown.

Let the pan cool on a rack for 10 minutes before cutting into bars.

I love a rich buttery, nut crunchy shortbread, and with the jam built right in, what could be better?

You could have them for Breakfast, with coffee or a mug of lovely cocoa.  So, with that in mind, we'll link this up with Chaya who is doing a Let's do Lunch Breakfast and Brunch theme on her blog.