Raspberry Streusel Bars

Week 32

My week to host! I choose Raspberry Streusel Bars. Recipe on page 219 of our book. There are a couple reasons for choosing this recipe. When I was thumbing through our book the raspberry recipes were very intriguing because they are growing in my backyard. The name was also intriguing because it sounded German. I love German baking. That is what I grew up eating. My Mom's Mother is German and is a fantastic Cook and Baker. Now that the name caught my curiosity I had to research the meaning and origin of Strusel:

"In baking and pastry making, streusel is a crumb topping of butter, flour, and sugar that is baked on top of muffins, breads, pies, and cakes. Some modern recipes add spices and chopped nutmeats. Although the topping is of German origin, it is sometimes erroneously referred to as Danish or Swedish." From Wikipedia

Raspberries and German baking sound right up my alley. Here we go:

P.S. This one is for my Oma (Rita Rau)!

These were scrumptious! Behind are my delicious raspberries from our garden. I was afraid there would be none to use for my hosting week. It's odd that we had so many raspberries at the beginning of July and then none for about a month. I was lucky to get a handful to use in the bars.

I suggest you give this recipe a try if you haven't already. Here it is:

RASPBERRY STREUSEL BARS

Frozen raspberries can be substituted for fresh, but be sure to defrost them before using. We like the chew of old-fashioned rolled oats here but quick-cooking oats can be substituted.

• 2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
• 2/3 cup granulated sugar
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 2 1/4 sticks unsalted butter, cut into 18 pieces and softened
• 1/2 cup old-fashioned rolled oats (see not above)
• 1/2 cup pecans, toasted and chopped fine
• 1/4 cup packed light brown sugar
• 3/4 cup raspberry jam
• 3/4 fresh raspberries
• 1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice

1. Adjust an oven rack to the middles position and heat the oven to 378 degrees. Line a 13 by 19-inch baking pan with a foil sling and grease the foil.

2. Whisk the flour, granulated sugar, and salt together in a large bowl.

Beat in 16 tablespoons of the butter with an electric mixer at low speed until the mixture resembles wet sand, 1 to 1 1/2 minutes. (I used my standing mixer. Why would I use a hand mixer when I have this fabulous non-hand mixer on my counter that will work with a switch, and does the same job. Maybe even better.)

Reserve 1 1/4 cups of the mixture for the topping.

3. Sprinkles the remaining mixture into the prepared pan and press into an even layer with the bottom of a measuring cup. Bake the crust until fragrant and the edges begin to brown, 14 to 18 minutes.

4. Mix the reserved flour mixture, oats, nuts, and brown sugar together in a medium bowl.

 

Add the remaining 2 tablespoons butter and pinch the mixture between your fingers into hazelnut-sized clumps of streusel.

In a small bowl, mash the jam, raspberries, and lemon juice together with a fork until just some of the berry pieces remain. (I used a potato masher and it worked good as well.)

5. Spread the berry mixture evenly over the hot crust, then sprinkle with the streusel topping. Bake the bars until the filling is bubbling and the topping is deep golden brown, 22 to 25 minutes, (mine were done at 22 minutes) rotating the pan halfway through baking. (Which I never do :))

6. Let the bars cool completely in the pan, set on a wire rack, about 2 hours. Remove the bars from the pan using the foil, cut into squares, and serve. ( I let them cool in the pan for a couple hours. Then cut them in the pan and enjoyed.)

To Make Ahead

The cooled, uncut bars can be wrapped in plastic wrap, then toil, and frozen for up to 1 month. Thaw the bars completely at room temperature (do not unwrap), about 4 hours, before cutting and serving.

I hope everyone enjoyed this recipe as much as we did. This will be made again and again, as my family loved it.

A Tip & A Question:

1. These bars are similar to Linzertorte. Well, not really when you look at the ingredients but they seem to have the same texture and fruit taste. (Also, that is what my husband said when he tried them.) This is a German tart that my family makes for Christmas every year.
2. N/A