Raspberry Bars

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.

Course Dessert

Cuisine American

Keyword Raspberry Bars, Raspberry Crumble Bars

Prep Time 30

Cook Time 50

Total Time 1 20

Servings bars

Calories 395kcal

Author Fiona Dowling

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.

Nutrition