Raspberry Streusel Bars
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Crumb bars. Pie bars. Crumble bars. Streusel bars.
God I love summer. All of the fruit. And pies. And tarts. And buttery, flaky, streusel-y bars like these. It’s my personal warm-weather heaven. And I embrace every single fruity second of it until the air starts to cool and the leaves begin to change. When I took the raspberries out of their container in anticipation of making these I marveled at how my baking habits drastically change with the seasons.
During the winter it is pretty much all chocolate, all butter, all of the time. Now to be fair, these bars certainly have their fair share of butter in them. But once the weather starts to turn, a transformation takes place in my kitchen. It becomes brighter, more colorful, and the baked goods tend to be lighter, and there is definitely more fruit involved.
Fruit like these raspberries. Aren’t they some of the most beautiful, perfect raspberries you’ve ever seen?
The other thing about warm weather is that I like to be out enjoying it, and not in the kitchen all the live long day. So once summer rolls around I definitely trend towards recipes that are quick and easy to throw together and don’t require to linger in a kitchen with the oven running for hours on end. These bars absolutely fit that requirement.
In about an hour you can have these in and out of the oven and let them cool while you run barefoot through the grass. Then come back inside, cut them up, and enjoy. You did just burn off a ton of calories running through the grass, right?!
(Oh, and don’t forget to keep an ear out for the ice cream man while you’re running around out there. These would be perfect with a little vanilla on top ;-))
One year ago: Baby Shower Cookies
Two years ago: Easy Fudge
Four years ago: Dark Chocolate Chip Scones[/donotprint]
Raspberry Streusel Bars
Ingredients
- 2½ cups (312.5 g) all-purpose flour
- â…” cup (133.33 g) granulated sugar
- ½ teaspoon (0.5 teaspoon) salt
- 1 cup (227 g) plus 2 tablespoons unsalted butter, divided, cut into ½-inch pieces and at cool room temperature
- ¼ cup (55 g) light brown sugar
- ½ cup (40.5 g) old-fashioned rolled oats
- ½ cup (49.5 g) pecans, chopped fine, (2 ounces )
- ¾ cup (255 g) raspberry preserves, (8½ ounces)
- ¾ cup (90 g) fresh raspberries, (3½ ounces)
- 1 tablespoon lemon juice
Instructions
- 1. Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F. Line a 9x13-inch pan with foil so it hands over the edges. Spray the foil-lined pan with nonstick cooking spray.
- 2. In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, mix the flour, granulated sugar and salt at low speed to combine, about 5 seconds. With the machine on low, add 1 cup of the butter, 1 piece at a time, then continue mixing on low until the mixture resembles damp sand, 1 to 1½ minutes. (If using a food processor, process the flour, granulated sugar, and salt until combined, about 5 seconds. Scatter the 1 cup of butter pieces over the flour mixture and pulse until the mixture resembles damp sand, about twenty 1-second pulses.)
- 3. Measure 1¼ cups flour mixture into a medium bowl and set aside; distribute the remaining flour mixture evenly in the bottom of the prepared baking pan. Using your fingers or the bottom of a measuring cup, firmly press the mixture into an even layer to form the bottom crust. Bake until the edges begin to brown, 14 to 18 minutes.
- 4. While the crust is baking, add brown sugar, oats, and nuts to the reserved flour mixture; toss to combine. Work in the remaining 2 tablespoons of butter by rubbing the mixture between your fingers until the butter is fully incorporated. Pinch the mixture with fingers to create hazelnut-sized clumps; set streusel aside.
- 5. Combine preserves, raspberries, and lemon juice in a small bowl; mash with a fork until combined but some berry pieces remain.
- 6. Spread the filling evenly over the hot crust; sprinkle the streusel topping evenly over the filling (do not press streusel into filling). Return the pan to the oven and bake until the topping is a deep goldne brown and the filling is bubbling, 22 to 25 minutes. Cool to room temperature on a wire rack, 1 to 2 hours; remove from the baking an by lifting the foil extensions. Cut into squares and serve. The bars can be stored in an airtight container at room temperature.
- *Note #1: Frozen raspberries can be substituted for fresh; be sure to defrost them before combining with the raspberry preserves.
- *Note #2: If your fresh raspberries are very tart, add only 1 or 2 teaspoons of lemon juice to the filling.
Did you make this recipe?
Leave a review below, then snap a picture and tag @thebrowneyedbaker on Instagram so I can see it!
I like your blog. Its one of the best blogs online
These raspberry streusel bars are the best. Can they be frozen? Thanks
Hi Barbara, So glad you enjoy them! Yes, they can be frozen!
I made these for Easter this weekend and they were a huge hit. They’re super easy to make and taste amazing. I will be making these over and over again!
Hi Diane – your comment was a long time ago so I’m hoping you got an answer to your question about the jam/jelly/preserve measurement… but just in case you didn’t… When you say that 8 oz = 1 cup, that is a liquid (fluid) measure you’re thinking about (as opposed to a dry measure which is by weight). So this would be ingredients like water or milk that have much less density than a jam or jelly. So for this bar recipe, Michelle is giving you the approximate equivalents in volume and weight for some of the ingredients. When a recipe doesn’t specify fluid ounces, I use the guideline “is the ingredient ‘like’ water?” to decide whether I should be using a liquid measure or a dry measure. For example, apple juice would be “like” water (use liquid) but mayonnaise would not be (use dry). Hope this helps.
Found this bar recipe last year. Have made this at least 30 times in CT and FL. As a result of the inspiration from this recipe, started making my own raspberry jam – store in freezer and use when I make these delectable goodies. There’s not a person who doesn’t love them – doesn’t matter what season I make them with raspberries available all year round now. It’s personally one of my favorite goodies – if I’m going to splurge with calories, it will be on this bar. Lovely recipe that exudes warmth and caring. Yum! PS: Make jam with raspberries, blackberries, blueberries, and strawberries which adds a whole new element to the dessert.
I made these tonight, and they turned out great! I always have trouble cutting bar cookies, but these sliced up beautifully. The only change I made was to add about a half teaspoon of almond extract to the raspberries, merely because that’s a flavor I like with fruit. Thank you so much for posting this! So glad I stumbled onto your blog.
These are simply delicious! I made a batch for an Indy 500 party and they were gone before the race was over. I made another batch a few days later and once again, they were gone w/i a day. My mom, who doesn’t typically like fruity things, absolutely loves them. Not only were they a huge hit, they’re so easy and quick to make. To me, they taste like thumbprint cookies. This is a recipe that has already found a home in my recipe book.
You tweak my heart with this because raspberries are my favorite recipe. Most of the streusel bars I see only use preserves so I loved seeing the fresh berries included. Many thanks!
Those look heavenly. I am with you, the fruits of summer make me wild with excitement!
My baking habits definitely change in the summer too. I think with me it as a lot to do with the quality of fresh fruit.
The raspberry streusel bars look so yummy!
omg YUMMM!
These look so good! I’m a sucker for anything with a streusel-crumb topping.
I am defenseless against crumble bars! Everytime I see one I have to eat it! This looks awesome I love that you use fresh fruit in it too.
I also love picking berries and can’t wait to start. These bars look amazing. I want a dozen, right now!
I just KNOW I wouldn’t be able to stop at one, or two, or even three if I had to start eating these! They are perfectly scrumptious!
I almost did a happy dance in Costco today when I saw they finally had raspberries. Looks like their timing was great because now I can try making these bars.
Wonderful bars, and the photos are so gorgeous that I can smell the strawberries through the screen :-)
I hear you about transitioning from chocolate to fruit desserts. These look like the perfect way to welcome in the season.
these look so good! I just want to drizzle a little cream cheese frosting on top. Beautiful pictures!
Berry streusel bars are so great to make in spring/early summer. I love how easy they are to transport and serve at picnics or potlucks. I made some with strawberries and added a white chocolate drizzle – so good!
I love fruit desserts; I think they are my favorite type of dessert, yes, even more so than chocolate! I love these gorgeous little bars and can’t wait to make some for myself! :-)
These look delicious! Anything with a streusel is a win!!
I just made a raspberry cake last night. I’d love to try these scrumptious bars. Raspberries make everything yummier! ;)
I made these this week-end with a couple of substitutions(homemade strawberry preserves, fresh blackberries & salted peanuts. Worked out great and the family loved them. Maybe next time I’ll do the raspberry version. Thanks for the great versatile recipe.
Yum, I am so ready for fresh raspberries! I just bought myself 2 packages at the store the other day!
Pretty bars! Perfect for spring and summer!
Gorgeous! Love the photos of the berries, so pretty!!
Wow, do these look great! They are making my mouth water just looking at them and reading about them!
My son loves raspberries more than anything in the world. I’ll have to direct him here to make this recipe. My little chef!
These are beautiful and look absolutely perfect! I love fresh raspberries :)
Mmmm. these look amazing. I love the summer fruits too!
I love bars like this. My mom makes one with strawberry preserves and those are great too. Raspberries are my favorite though!
I got inspired, and made these last night! They are delicious! Thank you. The crust reminds me of shortbread…yum!!
These look absolutely wonderful. The baked streusal topping will be all yummy and crusty after baking and it’s calling my name! The raspberries in the photo look like the best I’ve ever seen.
Yum! I love summer baking too, especially all those delightful raspberries – the best fruit ever – in my humble opinion!
However you want to call them, I love anything with a crumbly oatmeal topping. These look wonderful!
i totally agree! i love baking with summer fruit. the farmer’s market near my house only has local rhubarb so far, but strawberries should be coming in june, and raspberries in july!
i love anything with streusel in it…these sound amazing and look beautiful!
Ooo these look so good, definitely going to make them!!
I’m not sure I could stand to cook such lovely fresh raspberries–they’re too heavenly as they are. But I might sacrifce frozen ones. =) The recipe looks wonderful.
I did notice something odd and wanted to question it. You say…
¾ cup (8½ ounces) raspberry preserves
I would normally measure jam/jelly/preserves as a liquid, so if I measured by ounces, it would be fluid ounces. 8 fluid ounces is a cup, so 3/4 cup would be 6 ounces. Looking at your other items with ounces in parentheses…
½ cup (2 ounces) pecans, chopped fine
¾ cup (3½ ounces) fresh raspberries
It seems clear that these dry items are measured by weight, and I supposed you were doing that for your UK readers, but then I looked up and saw you didn’t do it for the other items measured in cups. So I wonder what’s going on…or maybe I missed somewhere that jams should be weighed, not treated as liquids? Kinda messy. =)
oops – I meant to reply directly to you but somehow it ended up as a new comment. See my comment on 5/14/2013 for a discussion about your question on the jam measurements.
I ate a whole container of yummy raspberries last night, just plain right out of the plastic box… wish I would have had this recipe then. This looks so good!
I guess I need to buy more berries now!
I think I love all fruit+streusel bars, these look great.
Yippee for delicious summer fruit! And all the calorie burning of course from running around the yard leaves us just famished…! These bars look delicious…!
Mmmm! I love summer and all the summer berried that come along with it!
These bars sound amazing and look fantastic! I love anything fruit-crumble like.
Oatmeal and fruit…looks like breakfast to me! :)
They look fabulous and lovely and summery. Raspberry and almond are such a yummy combination
These look lovely. I made a recipe similar to this a while ago but really didn’t like it. It only used jam, and the texture was horrible!! I will definitely try this recipe next time. The fresh raspberries look like they make a big difference.