RASPBERRY BARS

POSTED BY: Stefanie Brodeur

First of all, TART PAN. I told you that I found more uses for it than just for making the prettiest quiches ever.

I didn't PLAN on using it for this, but it just so happens that I didn't have the right sized baking vessel for the recipe, and the tart pan saved the day.

And that removable bottom didn't hurt.

This recipe couldn't be simpler - butter, oats, flour, baking soda, brown sugar, jam. That's it. Check out the original recipe at All Recipes.

TEXTURE
The recipe instructs you to rub the softened butter into the dry ingredients with your hands or a pastry cutter. I ain't got no time for greasy buttah hands, so I threw all that stuff in the food processor and pulsed it until combined.

Annnnd I immediately had second thoughts - the mixture was pretty finely ground, and I was nervous how it would turn out. THANKFULLY, as you can see in the picture below, there was still PLENTY of texture in the final product. PHEW! After pulsing everything together, just throw a tablespoon or two of additional oats in with the mix if you want it a bit chunkier.

NOTE: This mixture is going to be dry and crumbly after you combine it. Do your best to press it into the pan - I promise you, it will all bake together in the oven.

LET IT COOL - BE PATIENT
When you first remove the bars from the oven, the jam will still be hot and soft. Let the bars cool completely before removing from your pan or cutting into pieces. As it cools, everything will set, and became the perfect combination of chewy, crispy, delicious.

I HATE RASPBERRY.
Just kidding. I'm in love with raspberry. But if YOU hate it, just pick whatever jam variety you want. Strawberry would be so sweet and amazing. Peach? Orange marmalade? Blueberry? 

Holy crap. Nutella? I literally just thought of that as I'm typing this. Nutella & peanut butter bars? STRAWBERRY JAM AND NUTELLA?! SMORES BARS?!!!!

Look at all the nice texture you get, even after pulsing it in the food processor.

That line of raspberry. HOLY MOLEY. 

You can see a few squares are missing. That's because I ate them. I couldn't resist - lightly sweet, with some tartness from the raspberry jam, and a buttery, chewy oat crust.

What fillings would YOU put in these bars?