Blackberry Jammer Thyme!

Mmmm blackberry! If I had to choose one jam to eat the rest of my life it would be this one. The dark sweetness with just a touch of tang is simply irresistible. I was thinking about Max and I's trip to Nevada one evening and decided that a recipe with blackberry jam would be a fun distraction.

You see when we went to visit Max's family in July we all went out for breakfast together one Sunday. As we were all talking I watched Max's Dad go through the huge basket of jams and jellies that had been provided for morning toast. After a careful search he triumphantly held up a single small packet of blackberry jam, which he gloated over with the glee only a true foody can manage. Apparently the western states don't get a lot of blackberry jam, or maybe people just eat it all. Who knows! Despite the fact it is a rarity in Reno, I happened to have a jar tucked away in my Kansas refrigerator, and despite the fact I could not find a recipe that I could use (missing ingredients are a real pain!) I set out to create a blackberry jam crumble bar... thing.

The recipe turned out pretty well, especially since I have very little creative baking experience. Most of my baking consists of following pre-fabricated recipes that I am pretty sure will come out delicious. This was an amalgamation of several recipes and me, so I am a bit proud! For all my work I would probably give it a 3 out of 5 stars. It tasted good, it looked good, but there are some textural issues with the base that need to be worked out before the recipe is actually perfected. You'll also notice that I added Thyme to the recipe. I have no real explanation for this other than I thought the lemony flavor might bring out the blackberry goodness a bit more, and I wanted to see what would happen. So here is the recipe, and if you would like to try it, comment on it, or send me improvements to try I would be thrilled. I hope to finalize the recipe sometime in the future!
Blackberry Jammer Thyme Recipe:

Base:
1/2 cup of white sugar
1/2 tsp baking powder
1 cup of all purpose flour
1/2 cup wheat germ
1/2 cup of butter or margarine (I had margarine on hand, and it's cheap. Yeah.)
1 egg
1/8 tsp salt
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp ground thyme
1 large jar of Blackberry Jam
2 packets of cinnamon flavored instant oatmeal (about a cup)
4 Tbsp of flour
1/2 cup of brown sugar
3 Tbsp butter
1/4 tsp cinnamon
1/4 tsp thyme
1/8 tsp salt

In a large bowl combine the first 7 dry ingredients until well mixed. With a fork, cut in the butter and eggs until the mixture resembles coarse crumbs. Pat the dough into a greased 8x8 baking dish, making it as even as possible. Spread a thick layer of blackberry jam over the dough, about 3/4 of the jar if you want a nice thick layer. Finally, combine the last 7 ingredients in a bowl until the mix looks crumbly and delicious. Spread the crumb mixture over the jam. Place in a 350 degree oven for 30 minutes. Allow to cool for about 15 minutes before cutting into squares. Serve warm with ice cream!