Raspberry Bars

Raspberries are in season but they’re so fragile they have to be used right away unless you have enough room in your ‘fridge to lay them out single-layer on a baking sheet.  I thought I’d try baking some raspberry bars, since there was a big sale* on raspberries, and there’s only so many times you can pop them into a glass of wine before people start talking…

<Insert standard disclaimer about my ability to bake here.>  I looked at a lot of recipes.  They were all pretty close in ingredients and amounts, so I picked the one that looked like the least amount of work (excellent criteria, no?).  The only things I changed were using regular, unbleached flour,  regular oatmeal in place of quick, and omitting cinnamon.  Whole wheat flour is not something I use a lot of (a weird milk-bone relation in my head…don’t ask), and I wasn’t willing to go to the bulk store for 1.5 cups.  Use whatever oatmeal you have – unless it’s steel cut – that’ll never work!  As for the cinnamon, well, it’s just not my favorite, and, IMHO, does not go with raspberries.  Feel free to put it in your recipe.  

These came out of the oven softer than I envisioned.  Of course, there was a note that if they were cut right away this would happen, but I think I waited a decent interval - then again, I was distracted and lost count of the flour...   The raspberries were not very sweet to begin with, and the recipe called for a whole lemon zested and juiced; to me the filling was too tart.  I knocked that down to half in the recipe.

I’d make these again – the pan didn’t last 24 hours so the guys must have liked them.  I think they’d be great with whipped cream or vanilla ice cream.  Of course, just setting them on a cutting board and leaving a knife works, too…   Add raspberry cake bars to your meal plan if you have a lot of raspberries to use, or if you need a small dessert to bring somewhere.

*Note:  “On Sale!” Is how I justify buying things that are not on my grocery list (and thus not on my plan).  LOL