Sweet berries and oatmeal crumble – these raspberry bars are delicious. They’re perfect for a summer dessert with a scoop of vanilla ice cream, but they’re equally delicious as a picnic snack or for an afternoon tea.
My Favorite Raspberry Bars
If your favorite part of a fruit crisp or crumble is the actual crumble – then you’re going to love these raspberry crumble bars. The oatmeal base is thick and chewy with a delicious hint of brown sugar, then the middle layer is a sweet and juicy raspberry filling. But my favorite part is the topping – crunchy, cinnamon infused, and just plain delicious.
I love a good fruit bar – like my blueberry oatmeal crumble bars or strawberry crumb bars. Typically, I use entirely fresh berries with a little cornstarch, sugar and lemon juice added in for the fruit filling. However, because raspberries are so incredibly juicy – I had to change the fruit filling a little so that the bars wouldn’t get soggy.
Therefor, for the filling we’re using a combination of raspberry preserves and fresh raspberries. You’ll stir the two together to form a bit of a slurry. I recommend using a high-quality raspberry preserves as opposed to a sugary jam for the best flavor.
The oatmeal base actually doubles as the crumble topping. I like to use brown sugar because it adds so much flavor, then a little cinnamon really takes it up a notch. In this oatmeal crumble we’re using old-fashioned oats (AKA large rolled oats) for lots of texture. You’ll stir together flour, brown sugar, white sugar, cinnamon, a little salt and the oats. Then you’ll stir in the melted butter and an egg. It shouldn’t feel like a dough per se, but instead it should clump together and form crumbles if you squeeze it in your hand.
Note: Substituting old-fashioned oats with quick oats is ok. Make sure you don’t use instant oats or steel-cut oats as they won’t perform the same.
You’ll reserve about 1 and ¾ cups of the oatmeal mixture for the topping, and then press the rest into the bottom of your pan. The raspberry mixture is then spread on top of the oatmeal layer. And last but not least, you’ll crumble the remaining oatmeal mixture on top.
The oatmeal base is firm to ensure the bars don’t get soggy and the filling is nice and juicy. When you add the crumble on top, it may look like a lot, but it really won’t be after you bake the bars. The bars will bake for about 50 minutes. When they’re done baking, you’ll see some of the raspberry filling bubbling around the edges or slightly through the crumble topping and the crumble will look nice and golden brown. You can see what mine looked like below.
Note: It’s really important for the bars to be 100% cooled before slicing. Otherwise, you can end up with a bit of a mess.
Making a Smaller Batch
This recipe can be halved and made in an 8×8 inch pan. When halving the recipe, simply use 1 egg yolk (instead of the 1 egg for the full batch). The bake time will be about the same.
Love fruit crisps & crumbles? Then make sure to try:
Raspberry Bars
Equipment
- 9x13 inch (23 x 33 cm) baking pan*
Ingredients
Oatmeal Base & Topping
- 2 cups all-purpose flour
- 1 cup brown sugar light or dark
- ½ cup white sugar
- 1 teaspoon cinnamon
- ½ teaspoon salt
- 1 ¾ cup large rolled oats* AKA old-fashioned oats
- 1 cup unsalted butter melted and cooled
- 1 large egg
Raspberry Filling
- 1 ½ cups raspberry preserves*
- 2 cups fresh raspberries*
- 2 teaspoons lemon zest optional
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350F (180C). Line a 9x13 inch pan with parchment paper, leaving an overhang around the edges. Optionally, line with tin foil and lightly grease.
Oatmeal Base & Topping
- In a large bowl, stir together the flour, white sugar, brown sugar, cinnamon and salt until no lumps remain. Stir in the oats.
- In a small bowl or cup, whisk the egg with a fork.
- Stir the whisked egg and melted butter into the oatmeal mixture. It shouldn't look like a dough. Instead, when you squeeze it in your hand it should form clumps.
Raspberry Filling
- Stir together the raspberry preserves, fresh berries and optional lemon zest. It should form a bit of a slurry. You don't need to necessarily crush all the berries.
Assemble and Bake the Bars
- Reserve 1 and ¾ cup of the oatmeal mixture for the crumble topping.
- Press the rest of the oatmeal mixture into the bottom of the prepared pan.
- Spread the the raspberry filling on top of the oatmeal base.
- Sprinkle/crumble the reserved 1 and ¾ cup of the oatmeal mixture on top of the raspberry layer.
- Bake the bars in the preheated oven for 50-60 minutes. When it's done baking you should see some of the raspberry filling bubbling up around the edges and the top should look golden brown.
- Remove from the oven and cool the bars fully. This will take about 2-3 hours.
- When ready to cut, lift the bars out of the pan using the overhang from the long sides of the pan. Place on a cutting board and slice with a sharp knife.
Notes
- Quick oats are ok. Do not use instant oats or steel cut oats.
- For the best flavor, use high-quality raspberry preserves. Jam works too
- I don't recommend using frozen berries because it adds in too much liquid to the bars and will make them soggy.
- Store bars in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 5 days.
- Nutrition information is an estimate only and based on 1 bar, assuming the pan is sliced into 15 equal pieces.
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