Paul is the sweet eater in this family.  I’d say that his overall favorite is cookies.  Lots of cookies and any kind of cookies.  I grew up eating more of the bar style cookies.  My Mom would make brownies, butterscotch bar cookies, date bar cookies (one of my favs!), lemon bars and many others.  I use to make a Raspberry Oatmeal Bar that is still a favorite, but one day Paul said that he would like a different crust that resembled some kind of cookie.  That’s when my Raspberry Shortbread Bars was born.  I already had a fabulous shortbread cookie recipe and decided to make that the crust, then spread a delicious raspberry jam on that, and top it off with the traditional oatmeal crumble topping.  Bake it for 45 minutes and your house will smell heavenly!  There is one twist that I have started doing recently that takes this bar cookie to a whole new level.  I toast the oatmeal and almonds in the oven before making the crumble topping.  It really makes a difference!

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Here’s how I make it.

Raspberry Shortbread Bars

Go ahead and set your oven to 350 degrees and while it’s preheating, let’s get ready to toast the oatmeal and almonds.  It’s so easy and it can be toasting while you’re getting the rest of the ingredients together.

Measure the oatmeal and almonds and spread it on a baking sheet.  Bake in a 350 degree preheated oven for 10-15 minutes.  About half way through, stir the mixture around so it will brown evenly.

The Crust:

While the oats and almonds are toasting, let’s get started on the crust.

Place the room temperature butter and sugar in the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment.  Mix on medium speed until well combined.

Turn the speed down to low and add the vanilla extract.

Traditionally, you sift together the flour and salt in a bowl.  I have a sifter in the cabinet, but for some reason I just don’t like having to sift!  The whole idea behind sifting is to get the chunks of flour broken up and make it smooth.  I tend to take the lazy way and use a wire whisk to mix it together, plus It’s easier to clean!  After whisking (or sifting, if you prefer) add the flour and salt to the butter mixture and combine on LOW speed, unless you want to wear some of the flour as proof of baking.

You only want to mix this until it’s crumbly like this.

In a 9×13 pan, break up the dough evenly on the bottom.

Then just use your hands to press it down.  If the dough is sticky, just wet your hands with a little water.

Spread on the raspberry jam leaving a good 1/4″ border around the edge.  This keeps the jam from burning against the pan when it’s baking.

UPDATE:  Just thought I would add a note of what I did last weekend.  We had guests all weekend and it’s always nice to have some kind of sweet snack laying around.  I made these bars but I did one thing different.  I added about 1/3 cup more raspberry jam.  I had raves!  Plus I liked them better too.  So, I’m going to put a note in the recipe card to reflect my new measurement.  Ta Ta!

The Topping:

Now, let’s make the delicious oatmeal and almond topping.  My original recipe uses this for both the top and bottom crust.  But, for these bars, I only make enough for the top.

Here’s how I make the topping.

In a medium bowl, combine the brown sugar, flour, salt.

Add the toasted oats and almonds.

Melt the butter and add to the Oat mixture.

Using a fork, mix to incorporate the butter until it’s crumbly.

Sprinkle evenly over the raspberry jam.

Bake in a preheated 350 degree oven for 45 minutes until it’s golden brown.

Cool completely and cut into 20 bars.  I find that the bars have a fuller flavor the next day, so this is a great desert to make a day ahead.

If raspberries are not your thing, you could substitute it with strawberry jam, that is delicious too!  This is a great dessert for the upcoming holidays.  Not only can you make this ahead, it makes a lot and travels so well.

You may also be interested in these bar cookies.  Check out these posts:

Chocolate Pecan Pie Bars and Cherokee Molasses Bars.

What is your favorite bar cookie?

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Here’s the printer friendly recipe.