Guava Bars

In these tropical bar cookies, a buttery shortbread base is topped with sweet guava paste, then finished with a lightly crunchy oat topping.

Crust:
16 Tbsp. (1 cup) unsalted butter
½ cup (3½ oz) sugar
1 tsp. sea salt
2 cups all-purpose flour, unbleached (~ 10 oz)

Topping:
16 oz guava paste, sliced to ¼" thick slices
1 cup old-fashioned oats
8 Tbsp. (½ cup) unsalted butter, diced
½ tsp. sea salt
½ cup light brown sugar
1 cup all-purpose flour, unbleached (~ 5 oz)

Preheat an oven to 350°F (180°C/160°C fan, Gas Mark 4). Grease baking pan with butter. Adjust oven rack to middle position.

For the Crust:
In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment or with a hand held mixer, beat butter and sugar together until fluffy, about 3 minutes, then add salt and flour and beat until dough comes together. Press dough evenly into prepared pan.

For the Topping:
Cover dough with slices of guava paste. In the bowl of a food processor, combine oats, butter, salt, and sugar. Pulse 10 times. Add flour and pulse until mixture resembles wet sand. Sprinkle over evenly over top of pan. Bake until top is golden, about 45 minutes. Let cool completely before cutting into bars.

Makes 12-24 bars.