Raspberry Bars

Quick and easy raspberry bars are the perfect dessert for your next summer gathering! They are a delicious hand-held treat, excellent for picnics and outdoor parties.

Course Dessert

Cuisine American

Prep Time 10

Cook Time 35

Cool Time 1 30

Total Time 2 15

Servings bars

Calories 246kcal

Author John Kanell

Equipment

8x8” square pan
Foil
Pastry cutter

Ingredients

1½ cups all-purpose flour (180g)
½ teaspoon baking soda
½ teaspoon salt
1½ cups rolled oats (178g)
¾ cup packed light brown sugar (165g)
¾ cup unsalted butter softened (170g)
1 cup seedless raspberry jam (240g)

Instructions

Preheat the oven to 350°F.
Line an 8-inch square baking pan with foil, leaving a 2-inch overhang on all four sides. Grease the foil with additional butter or nonstick cooking spray.
Combine the flour, baking soda, salt, rolled oats, and light brown sugar in a large bowl. Mix well to combine. Add the butter and cut it into the flour mixture using a pastry blender or fork until the mixture is very crumbly and holds together when squeezed.
Press two-thirds of the crumb mixture evenly into the bottom of the lined pan. Spread the jam in an even layer over top, leaving a ½-inch border on all four sides.
Sprinkle the remaining crumb mix all over the top. Press it gently into the jam layer.
Bake for 35 minutes or until the crumble is golden brown and the jam is bubbly. Let the bars cool in the pan completely, about 1½ hours. Remove from the pan by lifting out the foil. Remove the foil from the slab and cut into 16 squares.

Video

Notes

Use old-fashioned rolled oats. Quick oats won’t have quite the same texture but can be used in a pinch. Steel-cut oats will be far too hard and crunchy and will not be pleasant to the touch.
Use a good quality jam or one you really enjoy eating for the best raspberry bar recipe. It will largely determine the flavor of the bars, as the oat mixture is relatively neutral.
Leave a little border on all sides when spreading the jam. This helps prevent the jam from caramelizing too much on the edges where it touches the pan and can either burn or make the raspberry streusel bars stick to the foil.
Make larger crumbs for the topping. If the remaining crumb mix for the streusel topping with oats is a lot of small bits, pinch them together to make larger crumbs (like the size of a blueberry).
Let the bars cool completely before slicing. It takes a while for them to cool, but you will get much neater slices if you wait. It will be very messy if you try to cut the raspberry oatmeal bars while they’re still warm.
Go a la mode! Serve a raspberry bar with your favorite scoop of ice cream and fresh fruit for a really delicious dessert.

Nutrition