Here’s a treat to bake that will transport you to a charming coastal town, the Inn that makes it, and the berry everyone looks forward to harvesting. 

Save this recipe to Pinterest so you can make Olallieberry Bars where you live. Photo courtesy of Visit Cambria. Graphic by RealFoodTraveler.com.

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Olallieberry Bars from Cambria, California

Olallieberries grow along the Pacific Coast, and especially in the charming California coastal town of Cambria, where they’re wildly popular among local foodies, gardeners, chefs, winemakers, and innkeepers. But if you’ve never heard of them before, you’re not alone.

The first known olallieberry was created at Oregon State University by the U.S. Department of Agriculture in the 1930s. Their cooperative blackberry breeding program created the olallieberry by combining the black loganberry and the youngberry. They named it Olallie, a Chinook word for “berry” — and a star was born!

Because the growing season is so short, most olallieberries end up in jams, preserves, and wines. But when picked fresh, they are used to make pies, tarts, and other baked goodies.

The following recipe for Olallieberry Bars comes courtesy of the Olallieberry Inn in Cambria. The owners grow olallieberries in their inn’s backyard English garden, then harvest them to create scrumptious desserts like this one for their guests.

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Olallieberry Bars

Recipe Courtesy of the Olallieberry Inn in Cambria, CA.
Photo courtesy Visit Cambria, CA

Ingredients
1 cup butter
1 cup packed brown sugar
1 1/2 cups flour
1 1/2 cups rolled oats
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp salt
1 cup chopped walnuts
1 (10 oz.) jar olallieberry jam or pie filling (You can purchase Linn’s Olallieberry Dessert Filling & Topping Preserves online here. The preserves are made from olallieberries grown on the Linn’s family farm in Cambria.

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Directions
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.
Grease a 9×13-inch baking pan.
Melt butter in a saucepan and remove from heat. Stir in brown sugar until dissolved. Cool to room temperature.
Combine flour, oats, baking soda, and salt in a bowl and mix well. Mix in nuts. Add brown sugar and butter mixture to the flour, oat, and nut mixture and mix well.
Reserve 1 cup of the mixture for the topping. Press the remaining mixture into the baking pan. Spread with olallieberry jam and sprinkle the topping evenly over the jam.
Bake for 30 minutes. Cool on a wire rack, then cut into bars and enjoy.

-By Carole Jacobs, Real Food Traveler Fitness, Health & Spa Editor

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