Ingredients
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2½ cups (12½ ounces) all-purpose Flour
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⅔ cup (4⅔ ounces) Granulated Sugar
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½ teaspoon Salt
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18 tablespoons (2¼ sticks) Unsalted Butter
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½ cup (1½ ounces) old-fashioned rolled Oats
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½ cup Pecans
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¼ cup packed (1¾ ounces) light Brown Sugar
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¾ cup Raspberry Jam
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3¾ ounces (¾ cup) fresh Raspberries
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1 tablespoon Lemon Juice
Directions
For the very best raspberry bars, we needed to strike just the right balance between bright, tangy fruit filling; tender, buttery shortbread crust; and rich, crumbly topping. To streamline our recipe, we made a butter-rich shortbread dough that did double duty as both the bottom crust and the base for our streusel topping. After pressing part of the mixture into the pan, we added oats, brown sugar, nuts, and a little extra butter to the rest and pinched it into clumps to create our topping. These additions made a topping that was light and dry enough to adhere to the filling. For a fresh-tasting fruity filling that stayed neatly sandwiched between the base and topping, we combined fresh raspberries with raspberry jam. Adding a squeeze of lemon juice to the berries brightened the mix. Frozen raspberries can be substituted for fresh, but be sure to defrost them before using. Quick oats will work, but the bars will be less chewy and flavorful; do not use instant oats.
Steps
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1
Done
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Adjust oven rack to middle position and heat oven to 375 degrees. Make foil sling for 13 by 9-inch baking pan by folding 2 long sheets of aluminum foil; first sheet should be 13 inches wide and second sheet should be 9 inches wide. Lay sheets of foil in pan perpendicular to each other, with extra foil hanging over edges of pan. Push foil into corners and up sides of pan, smoothing foil flush to pan. Grease foil. |
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2
Done
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Whisk flour, granulated sugar, and salt together in bowl of stand mixer. Fit mixer with paddle and beat in 16 tablespoons butter, 1 piece at a time, on medium-low speed until mixture resembles damp sand, 1 to 1½ minutes. Set aside 1¼ cups mixture in bowl for topping. |
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3
Done
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Sprinkle remaining flour mixture into prepared pan and press firmly into even layer. Bake until edges of crust begin to brown, 14 to 18 minutes, rotating pan halfway through baking. (Crust must still be hot when filling is added.) |
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4
Done
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Meanwhile, stir oats, pecans, and brown sugar into reserved topping mixture. Add remaining 2 tablespoons butter and pinch mixture between your fingers into clumps of streusel. Using fork, mash jam, raspberries, and lemon juice in small bowl until few berry pieces remain. |
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5
Done
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Spread berry mixture evenly over hot crust, then sprinkle with streusel. Bake until filling is bubbling and topping is deep golden brown, 22 to 25 minutes, rotating pan halfway through baking. |
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6
Done
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Let bars cool completely in pan on wire rack, about 2 hours. Using foil overhang, remove bars from pan. Cut into 24 pieces before serving. (Uncut bars can be frozen for up to 1 month; let wrapped bars thaw at room temperature for 4 hours before serving.) |
