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Raspberry Pie Crunch Bars
Updated June 6, 2024
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- Total Time
- 1½ hours
- Rating
- Notes
- Read community notes
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Ingredients
- Unsalted butter, at room temperature, for greasing the pan
- 2cups/250 grams all-purpose flour
- ¾ cup/150 grams granulated sugar
- ¾ teaspoon fine sea salt
- 1cup/226 grams cold unsalted butter, cut into 1-inch chunks
- 5cups/about 710 grams raspberries, fresh or frozen (no need to thaw them)
- ¼cup/50 grams granulated sugar
- 2tablespoons cornstarch
- 1½teaspoons freshly squeezed lemon juice
- 1teaspoon lemon zest
- Pinch of kosher salt
- ⅓cup/110 grams raspberry jam
- 1⅓cups/167 grams all-purpose flour
- ⅔cups/60 grams rolled oats
- ½cup/107 grams dark brown sugar
- ½cup/58 grams coarsely chopped pecans, walnuts or almonds
- ½teaspoon ground nutmeg
- ¼teaspoon fine sea salt
- ½cup/113 grams unsalted butter, melted
For the Crust
For the Filling
For the Crumb Topping
Preparation
- Step 1
Prepare the crust: Heat oven to 350 degrees. Grease a 9-by-13-inch baking dish, and line with parchment paper so that there is a 2-inch overhang on the two long sides.
- Step 2
In a food processor, pulse together flour, sugar and salt. Add butter and pulse to fine crumbs. Pulse a few more times until some of the crumbs start to come together, but don’t overprocess; the dough should be somewhat crumbly. (You can also mix the dough in a bowl using two knives or a pastry cutter.)
- Step 3
Press dough into an even layer in the prepared pan. Prick dough all over with a fork. Bake until golden, 30 to 35 minutes. Transfer to a rack. You can bake the crust up to 6 hours ahead, or use it while it’s still hot.
- Step 4
Prepare the filling: In a mixing bowl, gently toss together raspberries, sugar, cornstarch, lemon juice and zest, and salt.
- Step 5
While the crust is baking, make the crumb topping: In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, oats, brown sugar, pecans, nutmeg and salt. Stir in melted butter, pinching the mixture with your fingers, to make ½-inch crumbs.
- Step 6
Using the back of a spoon, an offset spatula or a pastry brush, spread jam in an even layer on top of the crust, going all the way to the edges. Evenly spread raspberry mixture on top of jam. Sprinkle the crumb topping over the raspberry layer, keeping some larger clumps.
- Step 7
Bake until the topping is golden brown and the filling is slightly bubbling along the sides, 35 to 45 minutes. Transfer to a rack to cool completely.
- Step 8
To serve, use a sharp knife to release edges. Using parchment overhang, lift and transfer to a cutting board and cut into 24 squares.
Private Notes
Cooking Notes
Pardon me if I'm misreading your directions, but this is what I see: Step 4 is prepare the filling...Wipe out the bowl. Step 5 is while the crust is baking, to mix the topping ingredients in the same bowl. Where does the filling go while the crust is baking and we are mixing the topping. I think we need a second bowl, but perhaps I'm missing something.
While reading this recipe, I thought the same thing Phyllis... and then I realized that the steps are a bit out of order: Step 4 should be spread the jam on the cooled crust. Step 5 should be mix the raspberries topping ingredients and spread them on the jam-covered crust. Then wipe out the same bowl. Step 6 is mix the crumble topping.
This was GREAT! My 12 year old and I put this together for a family get together. We had a bunch of fresh blueberries that we mixed with a small amount of frozen fruit. We didn't have any cornstarch so just left it out. An epic dessert!
Delicious! I like my friends but not enough to spend $$$ on fresh raspberries, so used frozen mixed berries, which worked fine (I chopped the strawberries). Cherries would work well, but recommend loosely chopping them and maybe use cherry jam instead of raspberry. Also, I made the shortbread before going to bed and did everything else in the morning, and had no problem using it more than 6 hours later. Will make again, by popular demand!
PLEASE CLARIFY instructions in Step 4 The last sentence of "Step 4" states "Wipe out the bowl." What bowl???? Should that actually say "Set the bowl aside"? To prepare the filling, in a mixing bowl, gently toss together raspberries, sugar, cornstarch, lemon juice and zest, and salt. Wipe out the bowl.
I did. It was delicious. I put in a tsp of almond extract instead of the lemon.
I made this with half rhubarb and half fresh blackberries for an outdoor party. The rhubarb didn't set enough to pick it up like a bar but the guests at the party raved about this dessert. The bottom crust is essentially shortbread. Buttery yum! I used almonds in the top crumbles- think pecans would be better. In any case, it was a success.
Has anyone tried this with cherries?
Really loved this recipe! Raspberries and lemon so good! I used a little bit of sour cherry jam because that’s what I had. Also, mixed some pistachios and almonds for crumble. Bars were delicious and not overly sweet. My only issue is that the parchment paper got stuck to the lovely bottom and was hard to peal off. I guess I needed to butter the parchment Paper? Step 1 said to butter pan and then put parchment paper on top? Anyway that’s the only issue I had. Lovely recipe!
Made this with strawberries! I increased the cornstarch by one tablespoon, added a little bit of jam to the berry mixture, and added vanilla bean paste to the crumble. One thing to note is that if you want the bars to fully set up they will need to cool for 2 plus hours. I brought a batch to a party and had to cut them about 1.5 hours after cooking and they were very messy.
Measure your baking pan!!! I just assumed mine would work just fine, but ugh, instead of 9x14 it was 9x13, which made for a disproportionate pile of jam on top of the drowned crust.A bit of a squishy mess. I suspect, though, that even with a correct sized pan, 5 cups of berries is a bit much. Whereas I found the melted butter to be insufficient, leaving most of the streusel on the dry side. But except for the excess of berries, the bars taste quite good. I'd also add a bit more sugar next time.
i absolutely loved making these!! flavor and consistency were great. if i were to remake them i would tweak the top “crumb” layer, possibly less flour and more oats/brown sugar/butter
These bars are amazing! Tart, fruity, and delicious crunch! I will be making these many times!
I’ve made this 3 times now without the jam. It has been great using fresh or frozen raspberries. As long as we have raspberries in the freezer from our bountiful harvest, I’ll continue to use this as my go-to recipe for them!
Made half recipe in 8 x 8 pan
The crumble topping is VERY dry. It seems like there wasn’t enough butter in the recipe. I double checked my measurements multiple times and didn’t miss anything…
Absolutely delicious, but too much gluten. Needs to be thinner.
Made this yesterday for our Mother’s Day dessert. Didn’t change a thing except subbed cherries for the raspberries since that’s what I had. I used frozen so I added somewhere between a half to 3/4 of a tablespoon extra cornstarch just in case of extra moisture. It was enjoyed by all, especially my Mom. Perfect dessert and will be made again!!
I often bake for a group that has some vegans and this recipe is perfect for "veganizing." Also as another commenter pointed out just about any frozen fruit will work. Everyone loves it.
I didn’t have any jam, so I added more fruit. These were delicious and one of the most popular things I’ve baked in a while. Will definitely make again
Made a vegan version for Christmas using coconut oil instead of butter. Bottom crust was too soft to spread jam on so skipped the jam. Used a mix of frozen raspberries, blueberries and blackberries for the fruit layer. Result was tasty but very wet. I will try defrosting and cooking the fruit down a bit next time if I use the same berry mix. Topping worked out well. It was great to have a desert option for the vegans that was enjoyed by the rest of the crowd,
Wonderful use of such many frozen raspberries from our summer crop, thank you
Melissa, you rock! Make these for yourself and the people you love.
I made this with cranberries and apples that I pre-cooked with some spices and apple cider to get the cranberries to pop and thicken a bit. It was delicious! I also added a little cinnamon to the shortcrust base for added flavor.
Always trust Melissa Clark. Ate the first serving warm with vanilla ice cream because we couldn't wait. The tang of lemon with fresh berries is perfect. Firmed up nicely to slice and share the next day. I needed a tad extra butter in the crumble to make it lumpier.
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