Raspberry Squares

Tuesday, June 26, 2012

Can you believe that it wasn't until I met Stephen that I started to like raspberries? For some reason the seeds and the tartness never really appealed to me. But now I've come to really love anything with raspberries in it, though I'm still not a fan of those pesky seeds. Anyway, I went to Target the other day in search of some nice fresh fruit and they had a ton of raspberries! I picked up a carton and knew that Stephen would eat some and the rest I could make something with. I remembered how good those blueberry-lemon crumb bars were, so I decided to make a slightly different version with raspberries. They turned out beautifully! Sweet, crunchy and delicious.

Raspberry Squares
Ingredients
1¼ c. all-purpose flour
⅓ c. granulated sugar + 1 tbsp.
¼ tsp. salt
10 tbsp. (1¼ sticks) unsalted butter, cubed
⅓ c. old-fashioned rolled oats
4 tbsp. pecans, chopped
2 tbsp. light brown sugar
1 tsp. corn starch
¼ c. raspberry jam
1½ c. (12 oz.) fresh raspberries, washed
1/4 tsp. vanilla extract
2 tsp. fresh lemon juice + 1 tsp. zest

DIRECTIONS:
1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line a 8 X 8" baking pan with a foil or parchment.
2. In a medium mixing bowl, whisk together the flour, ⅓ c. granulated sugar, and salt. With a pastry blender cut in the 10 tbsp. of butter until the mixture resembles wet sand. Reserve half of the mixture for the topping.
3. Sprinkle half of the mixture into the prepared pan and press into an even layer. Bake the crust until the edges begin to brown (15-17 minutes). Remove and allow to cool for 10 minutes.
4. Meanwhile, combine the reserved flour mixture, oats, nuts, and brown sugar together in a medium bowl. Add the remaining 2 tbsp. butter and mix until small clumps begin to form. Set aside.
5. In a small bowl using a rubber spatula, combine the jam, raspberries, sugar, cornstarch, vanilla, lemon juice and zest together.
6. Spread the berry mixture evenly over the warm crust, then sprinkle with the streusel topping. Place in oven and bake until the filling is bubbling and the topping is golden brown (24 to 26 minutes), rotating the pan halfway through baking.
7. Remove from oven and let the bars cool completely in the pan on a wire rack for about 1 hour. Remove the bars from the pan using the foil, cut into squares, and serve.
Stephen + Natalie | Makes approximately 9 bars

10 Comments:

  1. Yum yum yum. I have raspberries in the garden which will soon need using. I shall have to give this a go!

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  2. these look fresh and fabulous. i think they would be great for a cookout!!

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  3. These look wonderful!!! I'm pinning them for later. Thanks!

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  4. We have fresh raspberries in the garden so I can make these! Might mix it up and make blueberry ones too. I love that there are pecans in this recipe, they are my favorite nut to put in baked goods.

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  5. Too bad I just finished the raspberries this morning! That is okay, I know where to get more. Thanks for the recipe idea.

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  6. goodness these look delish. please come link up at mercyinkblog.com for our hearts&homes link party--- we'd love to have this yummy recipe added to the archives! :)

    happy friday,
    lauren

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  7. Raspberry is such a great flavour.

    I found this via Simple Living with Diane Balch. I linked in a retro steak dish. Have a super week.

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  8. These look delicious! Thanks for sharing at the Weekend Potluck!
    ~Kim

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  9. I have the same issues with raspberries and blackberries...I just can't get past the seeds. But these oatmeal bars would tempt me to try them...seeds and all:-) Thank you so much for sharing on Trick or Treat Tuesday!!!

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  10. I just saw some neighbors picking raspberries and blackberries... Yum. This looks fantastic. Please stop by and link them to Foodie Friday

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