raspberry breakfast bars
But up there, everything is a delight. We hiked, we played with the sweetest Schnauzer there ever has been, we ate proper vinegar barbecue, the best peaches in the world (from South Carolina!) and even hit some stores and a craft fair. And oh, how we cooked. Alex and I get a little hog-wild when we see a kitchen bigger than 60-square feet with not one, not two but three large counters and a grill that resides outside. Like, on a giant porch and everything! It took a mighty amount of restraint to not take a tour of the entire smittenkitchen.com archive, but we did make a good dent in just 72 hours, with the kefta kebabs, dimply plum cake, napa salad with buttermilk dressing, pork tenderloin and noodle salad, grilled eggplant with caponata salsa and even the big crumb coffee cake, updated for late summer with a blueberry filling, made a showing.
Actually, it stole the show. I am currently angling an excuse to make it again. Like the fact that it’s Tuesday and I haven’t had lunch yet.
I did, however, squeeze in a new recipe or two before the weekend, these Raspberry Breakfast Bars packed in a tin as a hostess gift. The recipe is from the Baked bakery in Red Hook, an adorable little place famed for their brownies (more on that later, if you ask nicely) and general awesomeness. They have a cookbook coming out in October but a friend slipped me a copy, and well, yikes. I have to make everything in the entire book. Everything.
But I’d start with these. I have to giggle at the use of the word “Breakfast” in there, as if that makes them health food. But they do share similarities with granola bars in that oats and cinnamon and brown sugar kind of way, but so much better because they’re homemade and you can use up all of those U-Pick raspberries you’ve been trying to give away.
One year ago: Hoisin Barbecue Sauce
[New!] Two years ago: Silky Cauliflower Soup, Anchovy-less Caesar Dressing and That Crazy Tuna Salad
Crumbly fruit bars, previously: If you’re looking for something just like this, but less “breakfasty” you might be one of the two people out there (I kid) who have yet to make the Blueberry Crumb Bars. Hurry! Before the blueberries are gone!
So, there’s this, too: My original plan for the hostess gift had been to make the Brown Butter Peach Bars from the Big Sur Bakery, featured in the New York Times last month, because I think we all know by now how I feel about things like brown butter and vanilla beans and peaches, glorious peaches. And you know, I don’t even mind a fussy recipe, in fact, I look forward to a project from time to time. But. BUT. The very first step of this recipe was “Make the peach jam” and people, I just couldn’t do it. (It is followed by two batches of brown butter, one of which is frozen and then cut into a pastry, then a filling, then a topping…) Am I broken? Am I finally cured of my no-recipe-is-too-elaborate insanity? Has anyone else made these or tried them in person? Do you all think I should take a deep breath, step back and make them anyway? I am at an impasse here, and could use your advice.
Elsewhere: Forget the milk and cookies! Over on Parenting.com, I created a slideshow of ten after-school snack recipes, and by “after school snack” I mean “after work” or “It’s two hours from dinner and what can I eat.” Because if you think I stopped craving banana-chocolate tortillas the day I turned 30, well, then you just don’t know me at all. Check it out, and do let me know if you try any of them.
Raspberry Crumb Breakfast Bars
Adapted from Baked: New Frontiers in Baking
These aren’t, as the recipe notes warn, actually “crumb” bars, with the streuselly topping you might see on crumbles or coffee cakes. Instead, they’re more like a raspberry sandwich cookie, yet less sweet than a typical dessert, and more earnest somehow.
I think you could easily swap the raspberries with blackberries.
For the crust and crumb:
1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 cup firmly packed dark brown sugar
1 1/4 cups rolled oats
3/4 teaspoon salt
3/4 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
3/4 cup (1 1/2 sticks) unsalted butter, cut into 1-inch pieces
For the raspberry filling:
1/4 cup firmly packed dark brown sugar
1 tablespoon grated lemon zest
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
1 pound raspberries, fresh or frozen
1/4 cup fresh lemon juice
2 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted and cooled
Make the crust and crumb: Preheat the oven to 350°F. Butter the bottom and sides of a 9-by-13-inch glass or light-colored metal baking pan. Put a long piece of parchment paper in the bottom of the pan, letting the parchment extend up the two short sides of the pan and overhang slightly on both ends. (This will make it easy to remove the bars from the pan after they have baked.) Butter the parchment.
Put the flour, brown sugar, oats, salt, baking powder, baking soda, and cinnamon in a food processor. Pulse in short bursts until combined. Add the butter and pulse until loose crumbs form.
Reserve 1 1/2 cup of the mixture and set aside. (Note: The book suggests you reserve one cup only. My gut told me that was too little, and I upped it. I wanted to make sure the top of the raspberries were mostly covered, at least for packing purposes, and was glad I had changed it.) Pour the rest of the mixture into the prepared pan and use your hans or the back of a large wooden spoon to push the crust into an even layer at the bottom of the pan. The crust should touch the sides of the pan. Bake until golden brown, 12 to 15 minutes. Transfer to a wire rack and let the crust cool. Keep the oven on while you make the raspberry filling.
Make the raspberry filling: In a medium bowl, whisk the sugar, lemon zest, cinnamon and flour together. Add the raspberries, lemon juice and butter and use your hands to toss gently until the raspberries are evenly coated.
Assemble and bake the bars: Spread the raspberry filling evenly on top of the cooled crust. Sprinkle the reserved crust mixture evenly on top of the filling.
Bake for 35 to 45 minutes, rotating the pan every 15 minutes, until the top is golden brown and the filling starts to bubble around the edges.
Transfer to a wire rack to cool completely, then cut into squares and serve. The bars can be stored in the refrigerator in an airtight container for up to two days.
Yum!!!
It is only a matter of time before I try my hand at these beauties.
Oh my…I want to eat my monitor.
I’m originally from NC and I absolutely miss every single thing you mentioned… the air, the absolute best and most perfect vinegar based BBQ (you must try eastern NC though!), and the peaches (farmer’s market, grocery store, or whatever, they just can’t match up in the mid-west). What a great food weekend… and thanks for bringing me back to NC for a few minutes
ooh you’re killing me deb. i’ve just made the blueberry crumb bars for a friend’s party tmw (really hoping a night in the fridge will make them less crumbly and more bar like…) and these raspberry treats look like just the thing to get me through my impending labour and the birth of my child. I’m obsessed with finding the right snacks! Will try them and let you know if they get me through, along with all that huffing and puffing….
Oh, I wish we had surplus raspberries! It’s been such a COLD summer in the PNW that nothing has ripened properly in my family’s gardens. The raspberries were scant and tart, figs normally ripen early August and are still tiny and rock hard…even wild blackberries, the kind that take over your yard in 2 summers, are puny and bitter! I’ll have to file this away for a better harvest year- it looks amazing!
oh and can I be the first to ask nicely about the brownies from the Baked bakery and everything else you’re going to cook from their book? :-))
These look like the perfect thing to use up some of the blackberries that have been almost literally throwing themselves at me on my walk to work. It rains a lot in Seattle, but in return we get a free all-you-can-eat blackberry buffet for a few weeks, so it all evens out.
Yes, please tell us about the brownies! I am still on the look out for the perfect recipe. I have considered making a recipe you posted last year but have not had the time. The pictures looks as though they might be a bit grainy; are they? That has been my result with most recipes. Is it something I’m doing?
I got all excited then at the idea of Brown Butter Peach Bars. But seriously, “make the jam first”…
Hope somebody will be up for trying these and reporting back? I’m too much of a baking wuss to be the first to risk something that sounds so fiddly :-)
The raspberry breakfast bars look very fine too and versatile (I’m thinking of the laden plum tree in my garden!). I’m a complete sucker for this kind of oat-based, healthier baking!
What a perfect little hostess gift! And I want to echo the asking-nicely above…please talk about the brownies!
Please, please, please?
Is that nicely enough to earn a new brownie recipe? (Not that breakfast bars aren’t great, but brownies…well that’s a whole different story.)
Oh oookay. Like I wasn’t going to post them anyway. ;)
However, if you’re impatient for a recipe, Cook’s Illustrated’s Classic Brownies are phenomenal, and should be made by all brownie lovers.
Can I have them for lunch or dinner too? These look and sound like a great way to use up some of the raspberries I keep bringing home from the Farmers Market.
where do you buy tins for packing up hostess gifts, etc? and any tips on packing up these bars – looks like you wrapped them (in parchment paper)? do you tape each one?
You had me at South Carolina peaches… Carolina peaches are the best in the world – despite our neighboring copy cat state (ahem, Georgia). These look delicious – can’t wait to make them this weekend!
Allie — The tin is from The Container Store but you can buy stuff like that online at Specialty Bottle and Glass and other sites. I used slips of parchment paper to pack them. I prefer the look of flattened mini-cupcake liners for presentation, but not the way they collect greasy marks from baked goods. This is better because you can pop it right into the freezer like this if you wish, or keep them from getting stuck together when defrosted.
Long overdue first comment…You and your site are AWESOME!!! I have yet to be disappointed by any of your recipes and your posts always make me smile. From the chicken and dumplings for a casual winter dinner gathering, mini empenadas for the 4th of July (tasted amazing but I think I overstuffed them since some didn’t seal), to the blueberry crumb bars last month for a picnic that went over so well, people actually left other store bought desserts (like one of those giant chocolate chip cookie pie things) completely untouched, AND washed the carrier I brought them in for me. Although I think that was just because they wanted me to run home and make more. These raspberry bars just got pushed to the top of my must make list, they look perfect for back-to-school to grab and go for my early morning lectures/rotations. Thanks and keep up the greatness.
First, these look delicious and I will definitely make them. Second, no, you are not broken. You don’t know me, but I feel like my little girl is growing up. I used to make the most complicated, intricate recipes I could find, just to prove to myself (okay, and to others too, I’ll admit it) that I could. I owned a catering company and did some fancy-schmancy stuff in the 80’s & 90’s. But then you read a recipe that begins with “Choose, kill, & pluck a 7-lb. hen.” No. You get a little older, your time seems a little more precious, and you just think “Life is too short”. Not to say that you won’t break out one of these epic masterpieces and tackle it at some point. But don’t feel badly. The simple things are often the best – trite but true.
WOW. These look beautiful- I LOVE raspberries. I’ve been on some crazy baking kick lately, and I see no reason why these can’t be added to the list. Except I’m out of parchment paper. Argh.
so glad you had a good time in NC! i had some amazingly delicious peaches last night myself, with a little mascarpone/powdered sugar combination. oh, and that article at parenting.com? those graham cracker cheesecake deals will probably get made at my house momentarily.
these look amazing. i love oat-y desserts…er breakfast items…these taste amazing i’m sure with a nice cup of coffee. must go out and buy some berries! i am so glad that you agree that the big sur peach bars recipe is seems outrageously time-consuming / difficult. that said, i LOVE big sur bakery and am sure they are perfectly dreamy to eat. but now i don’t feel so bad about abandoning the recipe.
These look delicious. I also would love to hear about these brownies!
You were here? In my homestate – NC – how awesome. I am glad you had a great time!
Hey, you were in my neck of the woods, hanging out in the NC Mountains! I understand not wanting to go back home after spending time on the Parkway. I heart fresh air, too. Oh, and thank you for giving me a reason to accept 10 lbs of back and raspberries from a neighbor. It’s only me by myself in my little kitchen, but I’d really enjoy making the bars. Snacking is what I do best, and I think I’d eat them all… Ok, I’d share some too, but the majority would be in my fridge.
Be still my heart! Those look unbelievably good! I live right near the beach. If I invite you over, will you bring some to me for a hostess gift? ;)
Ah, yes. I grew up in Raleigh and we used to go the the mountains twice a month in season. They’re so lovely, though I prefer September or October when it’s a little cooler! Glad you had a good time.
Planning on making these this week. They look divine.
I need to try these in a must run to the grocery store even though my husband’s at work and the kids need to go to bed sort of way. And believe me, for me to even consider putting off the precious quiet of bedtime, it has to be for something good. The thought of me having a moment with these raspberry bars and a cup of coffee in the morning, that’s more than good!
As for the “make the peach jam” – definite deal breaker!
The bars look deliciously – exactly the kind of thing to pack in my kid’s lunchbox for dessert – cause you know she’s going to eat that first, now that she’s in first grade and eating lunch in the cafeteria & gets to pick the order of lunch. I also checked out the snack ideas – they’re terrific! This is my first time commenting, so I have to also mention that everything I’ve tried from your site as been delicous – your first macncheese recipe that I tried a while back has become a family favorite, an extended family favorite, and a church-wide favorite. Thanks!
These look SO good! The raspberry pink is so inviting. Looks like y’all had a great time on vacation. My vacation was TO the city air of NYC! :-) Can’t wait to hear all about what you cooked while away.
Surplus u-pick berries? – hard to imagine that happening. There’s never enough, especially here in Cleveland. I wonder how frozen berries would work in this recipe?
Oh dear, now you’ve gotten me fixated on the big crumb cake variation…I know nothing could replace the rhubarb for first place, but how much did you decrease the sugar when you made it with the blueberries?
This recipe is the answer to the two pints of raspberry I bought. Thanks! The blueberry crumb bar turned out great.
Asking very nicely and politely about brownies.
Please…please….please.
So glad you had a nice trip away from NYC.
my kids will go crazy for these. they will be perfect for their school snacks.
THANKS!!!
These look yummy, and I love raspberries.
Question – How do you think they would freeze/defrost?
i used a smaller dish, so mine will be way thicker, but I have to ask if 250 degrees is right for the second phase of baking. They’re still in the oven, but i’ll let you know if they turn out…
No! Eeks. You see, I typed this recipe up myself, not Alex which is why that is totally wrong. Sorry about that–it should be 350. Will fix now.
I love North Carolina! Love to visit, especially in the fall, and wander the woods and mountains and then going to search out a neat farmstand or antique store. I’ll have to try these bars as I have some raspberries and was going to freeze them – but this would be much better as an almost-instant gratification.
And do tell about the cookbook…I have purchased about 5 since reading your blog and all of them are wonderful!
Sharon — They freeze just fine. We have extras in the freezer now. However, the only thing I am not mad about–and likely, this would happen either way eventually–is that when they defrost, the tops are a bit soft, no longer cookie like. But I guess that is to be expected with a fruit layer so thick, that they’d only be super crisp on top when freshly baked.
Wow, i just want to lick my screen. Ill give these a try this weekend! Yummo! I have a daily 90 mile commute so these will be great to eat on the early morning drive (6:30am).
You sold me immediately with the pictures… the raving about the NC mountains was just a bonus. I’m getting married somewhere near where you probably were in 3 weeks. I don’t live there and people keep asking me why I chose that location. They obviously have never visited!
oh my! just last night I saw on Martha a raisin/oatmeal bar recipe and today this? i HAVE to make them now!
Yum
Loved the kiddie after school snacks too…but the Peanut butter cookies?
No flour?
Really? just peanut butter, sugar and an egg?
I want to believe! LOL
The North Carolina mountains are absolutely beautiful – I’m glad you had a good time. Your breakfast bars look delicious as well – I can’t wait to try them.
I guess it would be blasphemy to suggest maybe a little shortcut on the peach bars? But I’m going to anyway. What about finding a really, really good peach jam that you can buy, then proceeding from there. Once made, you may decide that they’re just THAT amazing and would be even more amazing if you did the homemade jam, so you may decide to do it again, including that step. But if it’s not your favorite, then you can give it a pass and feel good about all the time you saved with the shortcut.
Can’t wait to try thee bars. I love raspberries and these sound delicious
I am looking for something to take on the go. These bars seem like the perfect fit. Thanks for the recipe!
Those look so yummy!
Hi! This recipe sounds awesome. I keep a blog about making great food with what’s available. One of the things I’m missing is a functioning oven, so I’ve been experimenting with using the grill in it’s place. I want to try baking these in the grill. I’ll let you know if it works!
Recipe question: Do you think this might work with an assortment of berries? I am very limited on my shopping options. I think I could get around a cup of blue berries, maybe a cup of black and rasberries…possibly some strawberries too. We are stationed in Germany and our military grocery store choices suck. I have guests coming into town this weekend and I would love to impress them with some homade berry bars.
I love the bars!! they look so lovely! damn i dont have access to beautiful berries!
This post is TOO MUCH!! Those bars look INCREDIBLE. Like I need one NOW incredible. You mention the famous brownies. I’m begging for more on that with all my tastebuds. AND THOSE AFTERSCHOOL SNACKS ARE AMAZINGLY WONDERFULLY AWESOME!! Sorr about all the caps, but if your post was less overwhelming I would have to use them.
You’ve always sorta been my hero, but now you’re number one, lady!
I’ve had a rather unpleasant experience with raspberry bars a while ago, but as all your recipes I’ve tried so far have turned out to be really good and yummy, I might just as well give these a try!
The bars look amazing and I’m truly jealous that you have berries that you desperatly want to give away. Why don’t I know somebody who has to many berries?
Honey, you are wonderfull! i read all the receipes, here in the eastern europe we don’t measure with cups, but i-ll find a way to convert the quantities! I forgot, all your pictures are a delight for my eyes , a big hug from Romania.
Christy, I’m in England with the same limited shopping options on base.The quality seems good but the prices are outrageous! Nothing like a $10-15 homemade dessert! Where are the U-pick places! I bet the mix of berries would be great! And you know what, frozen berries would probably work too.
I have blackberries ripe in my hedge but they are the tiniest, seediest blackberries I’ve ever had. Thought maybe last summer was just a bad season, but they are just as bad this year!
Here’s hoping the dollar improves!
Melody C.
Oh, the bars look heavenly, and congratulations on the parenting.com feature, the recipes look fantastic. I can’t wait to try them on my kids! I only wish all-natural peanut butter didn’t cost the price of a small house here in Berlin!
The raspberry filling looks so delicious, as do the bars themselves!
What deliciously moreish bars these are! Not sure about having them for breakfast, but I’d love one (..or three…) right now with my tea. Think they might be good with blackberries too – shall certainly be giving these a try!
Stunning photographs, sweet dog, scrumptious bars.
Your parenting.com slide show is terrific, love the easy, quick ideas. Sometimes I use up the recipe ingredients before I get a chance to recreate the smitten magic. Like fresh whipped cream and a pint of blueberries for breakfast, oh shame. Or the chocolate sorbet goodies that ended up being home made Frappacinos, oh yummy shame.
I want to make the amazing crumb cake with the blueberry substitute. How much? Is two cups enough?
I had used a 1/2 pound of blueberries (the same weight of rhubarb in the original recipe) but found it to be too much, not in taste, but in the fact that the upper half of the cake nearly slid off the bottom half. A quarter to third of a pound would probably be better–not sure how many cups that is.
Oh! And I forgot to mention the most important thing: I did this all uphill! Both ways! No, really, what I mean is that I tried my hand at high-altitude baking for the first time (we were at 4,200 feet) and it was very interesting. Fortunately, the Joy of Cooking explains clearly how tricky it can be and what you might try–we did a combination of less flour, less sugar, less baking powder/soda and a higher baking temperature, and miraculously, it all worked out. But it was definitely different. I am very impressed with those of you who bake like this all the time, since there is no precise science to what will work.
These bars look amazing. I wish you could have seen my jaw drop and drool begin to form as I saw the first picture. Also, loved your Parenting.com piece. The peanut butter cookies were one of my first recipes! I loved to make them growing up … well and now (I don’t have a very extensive pantry, but I always have those three things). Thanks for another delightful post!
Ditto Susan – we’re only a few miles from the beach and my couch is really red, do you want to come sleep on it and bring me raspberry bars? Though how you could write such blasphemy as GIVING AWAY RASPBERRIES is beyond me, I forgive you. I can’t imagine having too many of those expensive suckers – we buy the little flats and eat them before we’re out of the parking lot and then wish we’d shelled out for a dozen more.
deb – left them in for a long time at 250, about 40 minutes, then cranked it up to 350 for about 30 minutes. They came out good. a little mushy, but good. thanks for the recipe!
I was so happy to see this recipe, I have a girls-only weekend coming up and I want to bring a breakfasty treat. Do you think blueberries would work instead? I have tons of them left over from a trip to the farmers market. Would you suggest any changes to the recipe to accommodate the blueberries?
P.S. I absolutely love your blog!
These look delicious! Can you comment on how much sugar you used in the blueberry rendition of the big crumb coffee cake? Thanks!
These raspberry breakfast bars sound fabulous! What a dream, cooking and baking with all of the fresh produce in North Carolina. Great photos!
Great Parenting post Deb! I may have not stopped reading if they had you as a food contributor.
I made the blueberry crumble bars and they were an absolute hit. I had intended on taking them to work for a birthday treat, but I decided they were too good for the office. My husband and I enjoyed every bite. I can’t wait to try these raspberry bars. And yes please, I have been looking for a decent brownie recipe. The cookbook sounds amazing. Can’t wait to get my own copy.
What a summer it has been. Deb, you had me at homemade Oreos and then I went on to potato salad, Key lime meltaways, slow roasted tomatoes, flat bread, hummus, blueberry crumble bars (4 times!)… and now these. AND I DON’T EVEN COOK! I thank you, my husband thanks you, my workmates thank you…
Lazybrideny — Phew. I am glad I didn’t totally ruin your batch with my mistype. I’m glad I caught you comment.
Sarah — I used the same amount of sugar. It didn’t taste too sweet at all. I find blueberry when baked quite tart–of course, not nearly as tart as rhubarb, but the amount of sugar was pretty low to begin with so I didn’t fret.
I am so in love with berry bars; I am hooked! I could almost smell the North Carolina air…
You are officially my hero. I have made a couple of items from your blog, but I mostly sit back and drool at all the wonderful things you make. Being that I have 3 kids, I just don’t have time to tackle the recipes you use. But now? Now. You have gone and made 10 simple and super delicious looking snacks that not only are easy to make, but my kids will eat 8 out of 10 of them. And that’s saying a lot. Because when you quoted your friend whose kids will eat nothing but cheese, I truly thought, “Oh! She knows me!”
Holy cow! I don’t know where to start. Those breakfast bars look amazing. And the parenting.com thing? LOVE the yogurt boats. I’ll have to try that, except The Husband and I don’t have any kids so I’ll probably skip the sail. Maybe The Husband will like it anyway.
I haven’t made the peach bars, but may I make a cheat but not feel bad about it suggestion?
Pick up some good peach jam, and hold it until January, when you can’t get peaches, and don’t mind spending all day inside cooking, and make the bars with the jam. Then you get a peach fix, don’t have to make jam, and don’t feel bad about using the jam because you couldn’t get peaches anyway. Voila!
I love that they are breakfast bars, cause that makes them healthy right? You can add some flax seed too to take that a little further.
I just tried your chocolate banana tortilla… except I didn’t have any tortillas! I used some nice, airy whole wheat bread (though admittedly I did try to smash it a little so it was more like a tortilla… it didn’t work), and it was actually quite delicious! My only regret was that I didn’t heat it quite long enough, so the insides were only warm and not molten.
I was about to give you encouragement with the peach bars… until I looked at the recipe again and saw the jam needed to be cooked for over half an hour. That would try even my supposed patience, for just one component. However, if I had a candy thermometer… and vanilla beans… and heck, peaches, I might try it just once.
Don’t you just love cookbooks where you have to make every recipe in them?! They’re my favorite. Recently, I added a cookbook of just this sort to my ever-evolving collection and I haven’t been disappointed yet. I’m enjoying bite after scrumptious bite!
Your recipes for after school snacks on Parenting.com are great! You should make a separate entry just for them. Thanks for all your wonderful recipes!
I think I love you!
Wow! Looks fabulous! Maybe I’ll be able to go next year…..if everyone would STOP getting married then maybe I can free up some time & funds for weekend getaways with Molly!
Gorgeous photos! XOXO
It sounds like you had an amazing trip. What pretty dog photos.
okaaay. I just mailed my request to The Pope for your beatification because i had NO FREAKIN IDEA i could use my microwave for something useful like potato chips! You are my new and forever hero. Thank you thank you thank you. AND the peanut butter cookies on the parent site? THANK YOU again (because honey my husband has decided food storage is the way to go and we have over 100 Very. Large. Jars. of peanut butter in the “emergency food” area. Do you know what it was like to cart over 100 jars of recalled peanut butter back to the store by the way? So i have two new projects when i go home. Peanut butter usage and POTATO CHIPS!!!! Thanks!
Am officially in love with these bars! And that is just by looking at the pictures! That is – drooling over them, rather.
Another thing: Was going to show your page to a friend on her computer, and just googled “Smitten” and “blog” I think it was, and somehow ended up on a page by someone called Smitten. Which obviously wasn’t you, as the headline for the day was “My horribly awkward sexual experience”… now, I DO know you have a passion for food, but to call it an awkward sexual experience… I’m not even gonna go there. Found you at last, though, and you now have one more drooling reader! :)
I just moved to NC a few months ago and everything you say is so true. I’m so glad you got to experience it firsthand . . . and now I’m off to make these bars.
As lovely as this bar sounds, who can *afford* to use a whole pound of fresh raspberries on something like this . . .? I’d rather have a cake or a trifle to show off the goodness of the berries therein. It may have something to do with the fact that raspberries are seriously rationed in our household. Probably if I did end up making this cookie bar, I’d use raspberry jam instead. :-)
Speaking of berries!–If only strawberries were still in season! Then I’d ask for a cake with cream and fresh halved strawberries on top for my birthday. It would be lovely to live in a city where all the fruit in the store is nice and fresh. Super Walmart makes things easier now, but there are still some things that are out of reach. Like avacados that are ripe the day you want to use them without having to plan ahead, or artichokes that are as big as your head. ^.^
I know with many things, butter can be replaced with applesauce. As health conscious as I am (thank you, my diet,) I cannot fathom using that much butter… Sigh.
Any suggestions? I’m betting applesauce wouldn’t really work here, would it? Half applesauce, only on the bottom, non-crumb layer, perhaps?
MMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMM!
Yes Please!
BROWNIES ! ? ! ? ! YES! PLEASE PLEASE! Les
Jill et al — I made these with frozen raspberries. I, too, cannot fathom buying a pound of raspberries at their current price just to bake with them. I use frozen berries a lot in baking, esp. blueberries.
Erin — I know that it can work in cakes, but I haven’t tried it with cookie-type creations, where you need structure and a crispiness. On these at least, I prefer to just cut them smaller/eat less of them than mess with the recipe.
Oh yum yum yum!!! I’ll have mine with a cup of coffee please!
I loved the parenting.com article. You’re very creative!
Those raspberry bars are gorgeous! Better than a bakery!
I made caponata this weekend too for Labor Day, came out great.
Great minds think alike.
I am linking your fantastic blog to mine.
Thanks, Stacey
Gosh I love your site! I can’t tell you how many times I’ve come here and been inspired to make something *right that very night*. It’s exciting :)
Like today. I’m sure you probably hate this type of post – “oh, I made this same recipe, except I used x instead of y, p instead of q, r instead of s, and a instead of b!” I’m always like “ok, you made something vaguely similar, but not really the same thing at all!” Well now I’m guilty of it myself.
I didn’t have any raspberries, but I did have some figs that were sitting in the fridge looking lonely and suspiciously like they’d go moldy while I was at work tomorrow. But, I didn’t have quite enough to make a whole filling. I cut up my figs, threw in the last handful of prunes and the rest of a packet of Trader Joe’s Dried Pears, added some water to get everything going, and threw in some cinnamon. I cooked it until everything had softened, and then used a stick blender to blend everything together.
I used the crust as advertised, and this filling. It’s baking in the oven and smells insanely good! I hope they turn out as pretty as your raspberry ones did. I loved how easy the crust was to make, and how it doubled as the crumb as well.
Thanks again!
A glimpse of heaven. Thanks, but next time send out the invitations!
Those bars are just gorgeous! I feel the need to make them immediately… it’s 1am… is it ok to do so?
My heart started beating faster when I saw these beautiful babies. Luckily I have to take something breakfasty with me to something tomorrow and it is going to be a batch of these rather than the boring old muffins I was planning on!
I’m always looking for good breakfasts on the go. This may not be the healthiest of them but I’m sure it’s easily modifiable to be a bit more nutritious. They look wonderful and the time in NC sounds great! I’m from LI and go to NYC every weekend but I love getting away to areas with clean air, open landscapes and concentrating on the basics: food, family and conversation – there’s nothing better!
Wonderful oats, it seems a really healthy breakfast, with a big cup of milk (for example). Beautiful pictures (as always). You’re the best!
I want these for breakfast too! :D They sure look jummy
The blueberry crumb bars were wonderful and these look delectable as well. They will be next on the bar roster.
As for the Brown Butter Peach Squares..I made them and then are definitely worth the trouble:
http://www.izzyeats.com/2008/08/brown-butter-peach-squares-perfect.html
Ooh, these sound great. I read you all the time but never comment–that is stopping today. You’re a great writer. Anyway, I want to try these with strawberries–which just goes to show I want what I want and to heck with seasonal. :)
What gorgeous shots you took! I love the photo of the bars…they look absolutely delicious!
I just love these bars, but more importantly – just love that you were able to visit the mtns. of NC! This is where I go every summer to refill my spiritual tank. Yes, we are still enjoying SC peaches as we speak (er, write). I have a source where I can get juicy SC peaches for about 2 more weeks.. yummy.
Your site is amazing and I visit often.
I have a similar recipe using apricots, and OMG, I cannot stop eating them. I can’t even allow myself to make them or else I wouldn’t fit into my pants. Addictive.
I love what you do, the pictures you take, the food you make… it all makes me swoon. I’ve made so many of your dishes for parties that people now answer for me when asked where I got the recipe. oops. Your snack article for Parenting is great. I just made some YUMMY potato chips, sprinkled them with a little kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper. I was going to throw on some vinegar but I couldn’t stop eating them long enough to reach into the cupboard…
These look great and I am going to make them this weekend but I wondered why it says you can only store them for two days? They may not last more than two days in my house but that seems like a very short period of time.
So I went to parenting.com out of curiosity, and I had to let you know a lot of this is perfect dorm food… THANK YOU SO MUCH for some new flavors in dorm/kid-friendly cooking!
You are good! Those bars look amazing!
Respectfully:
Alabama peaches are, in fact, the best peaches in the world. Specifically, Clanton county peaches. North Carolina mountain air IS unlike anything else, though.
I’m glad you had a lovely weekend!
I do not have a food processor (yet!) is it worth it to attempt without one?
Thank you so much! Definatly making these this weekend, going to try it with blackberries though since we have so many right now. Also thank you for the link to the “after school/work snacks” I think i am going right now to make a banana chocolate tortilla! yum!
they are in the oven! i confess that i have a maximum one-stick-of-butter-per-recipe rule, so i made 2/3 quantity in a smaller baking dish.
I just made these. They turned out a lot softer than I imagined, more like a crumble pie than a granola bar type thing, are they supposed to be like that? It didn’t seem to harden even though I used the longest of the cooking times noted in the recipe.
Also, I was very disappointed in the flavor – the cinnamon doesn’t go at all with the raspberries to the point of almost being inedible. I would place a serious warning against using cinnamon at all or at least seriously reducing it if you are going to make these.
I just made these at 250 degrees… unfortunately I printed the recipe before it got changed. I changed it to 350 for the last 25mins though and they came out great! I packed some up and brought them on a hike and they were a big hit!
these looks absolutely delicious! your photos make baking your own bars definitely worth it! thanks for sharing :)
I was wondering if you could tell me how many pints of raspberries are equal to a pound? I am not much of a baker, and I want to get the measurements correct. Does it matter if you use to many raspberries in a recipe like this?
Thanks for this! I can verify that blackberries are amazing in this. I made it for a traditional English tea party and they were a hit. I got the blackberries from my Mom’s farm – fresh picked… About 1 quart bag of berries is equal to a pound.
I made these last week and they were so great! I don’t have a food processor so I just rubbed in the butter like you would with pastry. All good.
oh glory. They are fabulous. I made them and sent them little packages of 4 in with the kids to give to their teachers. Does that make me a suck up?
Frozen raspberries worked just fine.
OH….times like this I wish I had scratch and sniff monitors.
I can’t WAIT to try these. I’m catering a breakfast meeting this weekend, and I might have to do throw these into the mix with the scones and muffins. AND I feel so special (and kind of sad) that you were in my state!! Alas, I didn’t know it. And I don’t know you which would’ve made it awkward if I’d shown up for lunch one day. But I’m glad you enjoyed NC. It’s beautiful, right?
Made these a couple of days ago, but subbed in the plentiful urban blackberries growing everywhere around here right now (Pacific Northwest). The “1 lb” quantity was a little clunky for me – it netted me about 3 cups of blackberries, but next time I’ll bump it up to 4 cups for better berry coverage on the bottom layer. And horror of horrors, these were not all immediately consumed, so by today (day 2) they were pretty soggy from all the butter. Not that anyone minded.
Have any of you tried to make them using strawberries instead? It’s nearly impossible to find raspberries here (either fresh, canned or frozen), same thing for blueberries. So I was considering strawberies but I’m afraid they’ll be way too juicy and ruin everything. Help me, I loved this recipe! :)
Hi Deb, These turned out well. Especially fun to make with the beautiful red colored berries. You are such an inspiration with all your great recipes.
Question for you since you are so smart when it comes to baking… I have this ongoing issue with getting the things I bake to rise properly. These bars turned out thinner than yours appear, not that they are to be real thick. But with everything, muffins, scones etc… It seems as if they always turn out flatter than they should be. I’ve tried the usual things – fresh baking powder/soda, oven thermometer to check for correct temperature and even heard that really cold butter helps with rising. Nothing seems to work (though the cold butter makes some difference). Any other suggestions??? Thanks.
I think I need some coffee….and raspberry bars ! Love your site and your photos are beautiful! Thanks !
These bars look wonderful. Thanks for posting the recipe…I will definitely be giving them a try.
Deb,
WHERE IN THE WORLD did you come up with those amazing potato chips? I made them last night and shocked my husband, who came home from work and didn’t understand when I had suddenly taken up deep-frying. They are fantastic, taste shockingly like they had been fried, but they aren’t greasy, you can taste potato, and they’re so freaking healthy! I’ve had a lot of fun reading this site for a long time, but that might be the best thing I’ve seen yet. I may have to try it with a sweet potato next.
Deb,
I love your website. I have been trying to create these photo collages that you always have (I am not great with computers) and cannot for the life of me figure it out. Can you help me?
They’re not actually collaged. If you line up the code for your pictures in your HTML/entry space on after another, they’ll naturally fall in line until they hit the width of your entry area. Hope that helped–just try it, it works.
A little late, but wanted to say that I tried the potato chips from your parenting.com article. I was skeptical at first, but very pleasantly surprised. Quite the smart little trick! Will keep this one in mind. I’ve been out of touch for the past few weeks and look forward to catching up with everything.
So good. I just can’t even express how delicious these are. I used some zest and juice from a tangelo and from a lime because I was out of lemons and just couldn’t wait! The orange flavor with the raspberries is perfect! Thanks for another winning recipe. You never disappoint!
Grrr. Me again from 125. Have made these three times now with blackberries, and the consensus is these bars, while delicious, end up being way too soggy. Perhaps it’s because blackberries contain more moisture than raspberries?! Anyway, I’m off to recipe tweaking land with this one. I think I’ll use a crumb pie crust for the bottom layer as it’s potentially sturdier, and also why oh why is there leavening in the bottom layer? Makes no sense to me. And I’ll mix some of the above crumb into the berries to soak up extra berry liquid. At least I’ve put about 8 million cups of blackberries in my freezer in the past couple weeks!
Picked a ton of raspberries this morning (they are just ripening here in MN). Was looking for something to do with all those berries, and this was just the thing.
I can’t believe how great these bars turned out. I added a bit of extra flour in with the berries because they seemed so juicy, and ended up cooking a few extra minutes to get a gorgeous brown color.
These have a great sweet-tart balance, and the texture (crunchy, crumbly & juicy) is excellent.
I hope they stay well overnight so I can share some tomorrow.
I made this over the weekend with frozen blueberries + lime instead of lemon, they came out fantastic! Thanks for the recipe!
These look scrumptious! Your photography is even more stunning than usual in this entry…
Freaking fantastic recipe!! I just made these tonight and had to eat a few… who can wait for breakfast?!?! Thanks for all the great recipes.
….Excuse me whilst I eat my screen….
These look sooo scrummy!! I think this is by far one of my favourite spots on the web. These will definitely be made sometime soon, as well as that cauliflower salad you posted the other day.
Are there any other bakeries that are a must in NYC?? I’m visiting in Feb and so far I have Baked and Magnolias on my list.
Elle
These are fabulous. I have made them with just raspberries and also a mix of frozen blueberries and raspberries. I just added a little extra flour to the filling because of the frozen fruit. They were a huge hit in my house. Thanks for such a great site.
It’s a cold day here in Northern Wisconsin so I decided to do some baking after I dropped my son off at school. These bars had been in my “to-make” folder for quite a while. They are tremendous and are not too sweet. In the future, I will bake the flour/oat base for the shorter amount of time. It got a touch overdone in the final baking. Delicious!
Dear Deb, I’m reading your awesome blog from Hungary, and I’ve already tried a lot of recipes of yours. Of course they all were fantastic :-)
I would like to ask, whether 1 cup = 2,5 dl, or just 2, because it is a bit unsure for me.
Thanks
Niki
I have a recipe like this but for the filling i use apricot jam and its amazing.
Those look absolutely fabulous! I can’t wait to make these and bring them into work in the morning for everyone to try! your pictures make them look so yummy! thanks for the recipe!!!!!
these are sooooo delicious! i’ve made them a half dozen times already. thanks for posting this, and also for the recommendation to reserve more topping – definitely a good idea!
agh… was going crazy when I couldn’t find this in your recipe index! I thought you deleted it or something! Good thing I found it on my reader… whew :)
Just a heads up, it’s not in the index… thanks! :)
I just made these for breakfast for tomorrow. My boyfriend will forget he should go to work while eating these.
The taste is very good but the bottom bit is a bit crispy. Is this normal or did I burn it?
I just made this after bookmarking this a long time ago. They are amazing. When they first cooled the bottom had a nice crispy texture I loved but by the night time it had softened. I cooled it on a wire rack, so I wonder why the crispness went away? Either way these are wonderful!
I make these tonight again~~ For me, this breakfast bar is better than cereals.
I love this recipe, i tried it and it was great…… its was so easy!
If this is as good as it looks..I am in for two pounds. One thing I have learned is the quality of spice in the recipe matters. I got some Ceylon Cinnamon from an online Juliet Mae Spices. Fantastic. It makes the other cinnamon I bought at the grocery store taste like dust.
I used frozen raspberries instead of fresh, and the bars turned out wonderfully! Thanks for sharing a delicious recipe.
Hi! Can these bars be frozen? If so, how long will they keep in the freezer? I love your website =)
They can be frozen. Any baked good can be frozen. The trick is wrapping them well. How long they’ll keep depends on your freezer, some pick up freezer smells in just two weeks, others can keep stuff in a deep freeze virtually undisturbed for months.
I love North Carolina. We used to vacation there frequently in the mountains or on the beaches. Transplanting oneself from country to city is not the easiest task (not for this mouse, anyway), but it sure does make me appreciate clean air and the sound of crickets and frogs on a summer night. P.S. Can’t wait to make some berry bars.
I made this recipe today using half fresh raspberries and half fresh strawberries. It turned out really well. I love how crisp and buttery tasting the cookie part is. And I found the fruit layer delicious, not too sweet which is the way I enjoy fruit desserts. (I think my preference is to eat it as a dessert or sweet with tea rather than breakfast.) Thank you for a “keeper” recipe!
What do you think about putting the raspberries in a food processor. I have a texture problem…
Do you think these could be shipped via mail if vacuum sealed? My husband is currently deployed and would love some home-baked goodies, these seem like they would travel well but I’d like to make sure first. It takes 7-10 days for packages to reach him.
Hi! I’ve made these twice. First, following Deb’s recipe (including reserving 1-1/2 c. of the crumb mixture for the top); the raspberries were a touch tart this time of year, and I wished I’d added more sugar to them. But the final bars were still quite good.
The second time, I substituted 1 lb. of blueberries, used a touch less lemon juice (I used 1/2 lemon, squeezed gently by hand. I’m estimating it was maybe 1 or 2 Tbsp. of juice. I was afraid that the mixture would be too watery and tart if I added more.) And instead of mixing the melted butter, I poured it on the top crumb layer (because I forgot to mix it with the blueberry filling, as directed.)
In a word: delish. The blueberries are just barely sweet (I don’t like fruit that sweetened; I find jams and jellies to be too sweet for me), and the crumb topping tastes touch a touch more rich and buttery.
Thanks!
Hello all! A co-worker of mine recommended this blog and I must say it is the best I have ever seen! I particularly love this recipe and have plucked some fresh raspberries from my parents’ garden in anticipation of baking however due to some health issues (hypothyroidism) I am trying to go gluten/soy free- has anyone tried making this recipe with rice flour or any other gluten substitute? I am new to this gluten/soy free thing and am having a difficult time creating new eating habits. Would love to hear if anyone has tried this! Oh- I am also in Denver, Colorado so any high altitude tips are appreciated as well, usually I am pretty good with baking but in case anyone ran into any issues I would love to hear your solution!
Thanks so much!
Made these, love them. I don’t like things too sweet so I cut the sugar to 2/3 cup in the crust and completely out of the raspberry layer, and also subbed in 1/2 cup whole wheat flour in the crust. Worked beautifully!
Deb, would you say these bars are more crisp, or are they chewy? I think if they’re chewy, I might make them and then face-plant directly into the pan.
The granola crusts get crisp, the inside is soft like a crumble/crisp filling. They soften up the longer you keep them.
could you substitute honey for the brown sugar? we are trying to decrease the amount of sugar we use and this recipe looks too divine not to try… could you suggest what proportion of honey or is it the same amount of the brown sugar?
Raspberries, brown sugar, and butter, oh my! I went raspberry picking today in Oak Glen, CA and have two pans of these babies in my oven as we speak! I got crazy with the second pan and added chocolate chips (on top of the crust, under the raspberries). Can’t wait to try one! Thank you for the great recipe!! BTW, I licked the raspberry filling bowl CLEAN! Dee-lish!
Yummy! Sweeter than I thought but that doesn’t bother me one bit.
Very good and they came out looking just like the picture. Phewww.
I tried my hand at these gorgeous bars last night and have the following observations. You were right on about reserving more of the mix for the topping. I bumped it up to two cups and was very happy with the results. Also, I found the lemon to be overpowering. When I make these again, I will double the raspberries to 2lbs and decrease the lemon juice by half.
Made this recipe tonight. I opted for strawberries, my personal preference, and used frozen due to the season. I suppose strawberries are more moist than raspberries, (maybe I should have thawed them first??), what I got was a super delicious cobbler style concoction instead. The bottom layer was solid, but the fruit and top crumb mingled together and never solidified. It still tastes wonderful and will go perfectly with a scoop of ice cream!
So glad you enjoyed Highlands…hope you have had the chance to go back. It is a magical place.