Plum Perfection

I recently discovered that I have a large plum tree in my backyard. I've never tended to it but still it has produced a bountiful harvest of small but delicious, purple plums. The discovery of this fruit-laden tree has made my yard the neighborhood children's hot-spot and has even inspired the creation of a fort next to the tree.

Such a copious crop had me looking for ways to put all my plums to a good use. I searched through  many plum-related, mouth-watering photos which the Food Gawker app provided and discovered an amazing recipe- 

Plum Crumble Bars
By: The Cilantropist

3/4 cup brown sugar
1/4 cup white sugar
1 tsp baking powder
3 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1/4 tsp nutmeg
1/4 tsp allspice
1/4 tsp salt
1 cup (2 sticks) cold butter, cut into small dices
1 large egg
About 10 small-medium plums 
*Optional: plum jam

Preheat oven to 375 degrees Fahrenheit, and spray the inside of a 9x13 baking pan with non-stick spray.  

Prepare plums by slicing each around the equator, and then twisting to separate one half from the other - then remove the pit, and slice each plum thinly.  Set these aside.  

In a large or medium bowl, prepare the crumble mixture by whisking together the brown sugar, white sugar, baking powder, flour, and spices.  Then use a pastry cutter, a sturdy fork, or your fingers (I used the finger method), to blend the cold butter into the flour mixture.  You want to evenly distribute it, but some clumps of butter will probably remain, and the mixture will be crumbly.  Then use a spoon or your hands to beat and mix the egg into the crumble dough.  Make the bottom crust by firmly compressing about 3/4 of the mixture onto the bottom of the prepared pan.  Next, spread a thin layer of plum jam over crust and then layer the plum slices over the top of the crumb base.  Finally, scatter the remaining 1/4 of the crumb mixture over the top of the plum slices, without pressing it down. 

Bake the bars in the preheated oven for approximately 30-35 minutes, or until the top is golden brown, and the plums around the edges are just a bit bubbly.  Cool the bars completely in the pan before cutting them - overnight in the fridge works perfectly for this.  Cut into squares for serving, or into triangles if you feel more fancy.  Keep refrigerated in an airtight container if not serving right away.