These raspberry crumb bars are the perfect treat! The shortbread is buttery and rich with the perfect amount of sweetness from the raspberry filling. Thanks to a special step, the crumb topping is extra light and just melts in your mouth! These raspberry crumb bars are perfect as a dessert, snack, or anytime you are craving a sweet treat. Try them once and you’ll fall in love!
Why I love these raspberry crumb bars
- Texture: These bars are the perfect combination of textures! The shortbread base is buttery and rich, and the crumb topping is super light and airy thanks to a special trick. These bars just seems to melt in your mouth! In addition, the shortbread includes cornstarch, which keeps these bars extra tender.
- Flavor: These bars allow the delicious flavor of raspberries to shine! Best of all, these bars are perfectly sweetened from the raspberry jam. These bars are especially perfect for the spring or summer!
- Presentation: I just love how these bars look! The distinct layers of shortbread, jam, and crumble topping looks so cool when sliced. The powdered sugar on top also highlights the texture of the crumbs. These bars would be perfect for any gathering!
The origin of these raspberry crumb bars
These bars are inspired by the raspberry crumb bars from Flour Bakery, owned by the amazing Joanne Chang. As soon as I took a bite, I knew I needed to make some for myself. I followed her original recipe and then adapted it to be more friendly for the home baker.
The special trick to making these raspberry crumb bars
So what gives these bars their amazing texture? It’s the light and airy crumb topping! Instead of making a streusel and sprinkling over the bars, the crumbs on these bars are made with the help of a box grater. Part of the shortbread dough is frozen until solid and then grated to create the crumb topping. Grating creates very thin flakes of dough that layer on top of each other, which gives these bars their unique light and melt-in-your-mouth texture.
While I very strongly recommend grating the dough to make the crumb topping, you can also use a food processor if you don’t have a box grater. Simply pulse the frozen dough until it forms medium crumbs and then sprinkle over the bars.
Key ingredients for these raspberry crumb bars
- Unsalted butter – make sure to let the butter come to room temperature for easy creaming! Since this shortbread only has a few ingredients, I strongly recommend using high quality butter for the best flavor and texture.
- Sugar
- Egg yolks
- All purpose flour
- Cornstarch – This shortbread calls for cornstarch, which helps keep these bars super tender and soft. If you don’t have cornstarch, feel free to substitute all purpose flour.
- Baking powder
- Raspberry jam – The raspberry jam is the star flavor in these bars! Since it is such a key ingredient, I recommend using high quality raspberry jam, made with real raspberries.
Tips for making these raspberry crumb bars
- For the best texture, I recommend sifting the flour with the cornstarch, but this step can be skipped if you are short on time or don’t have a sifter.
- When combining the wet and dry ingredients, you may find that the dough gets too thick for your mixer. If this happens, simply finish mixing in the dry ingredients by hand with a spatula or spoon.
- If the dough has chilled for longer than 1 hour, it may be too stiff to roll out. Simply allow the dough to rest at room temperature for 5-10 minutes and then roll.
- You can also grate the frozen dough into a separate pile and then sprinkle over the raspberry jam. If you don’t have a box grater, I recommend pulsing the dough in a food processor until it forms small/medium crumbs. Then sprinkle over the jam.
- Be careful not to over bake the shortbread base during the first bake. It should be lightly golden around the edges and just slightly browned on top. The base is going to get baked again once the raspberry jam and crumb topping have been added, so if you bake it too long the first time, it might over bake or burn during the second bake.
- Make sure to let the bars cool completely before slicing. They are very delicate when warm and may fall apart if you try to cut them.
Variations and substitutions for these raspberry crumb bars
- If you would like to reduce the butter in this recipe, I have had good results replacing 4 tablespoons of butter with 1/4 cup plain yogurt.
- If you like baking with almond flour, feel free to replace up to 1/2 cup all purpose flour with almond flour.
- Almond pairs so well with raspberries! Try adding 1/2 teaspoon almond extract if you have it.
- For a burst of tart flavor, sprinkle a couple of fresh raspberries over the raspberry jam before the second bake.
- These bars would also taste amazing with other fruits. I recommend trying them with strawberry jam, blueberry jam, blackberry jam, or any other jam that you like!
If you liked these raspberry crumb bars, you might also like…
- Raspberry Swirl Cheesecake
- Healthy One-Bowl Berry Cake
- Strawberry Coconut Oat Bars
- Jammy Strawberry Cake
Melt in Your Mouth Raspberry Crumb Bars
These raspberry crumb bars have a buttery shortbread base with an extra light and melt-in-your-mouth crumb topping. They are perfectly sweetened by the layer of raspberry filling!
Servings: 24 squares
Ingredients
- 2 1/2 cups all purpose flour
- 3 tablespoons corn starch
- 3/4 teaspoon baking powder
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1 1/4 cup (20 tablespoons) unsalted butter room temperature
- 1/3 cup granulated sugar
- 2 egg yolks
- 1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- 1/4 teaspoon almond extract optional
- 2 cups raspberry jam
- 3 tablespoons powdered sugar for dusting on top optional
Instructions
- Sift the all purpose flour and corn starch together into a large bowl. Add the baking powder and salt. Whisk to combine.
- In a separate large bowl, cream the butter and granulated sugar together until light and fluffy. Beat in the egg yolks, vanilla extract, and almond extract until well combined. The mixture should be very light and fluffy.
- Add about 1/4 of the flour mixture into the butter mixture and beat to combine on low speed. Continue adding the flour in small portions and beating until incorporated. If the batter becomes too stiff for the mixer, finish mixing by hand with a spatula.
- Remove 1/4 of the dough and cover with plastic wrap. Freeze for at least 2 hours or until solid. Pat the remaining 3/4 of the dough into a flat square, around 1 inch thick. Cover in plastic wrap and chill in the fridge for at least 1 hour.
- After chilling, preheat oven to 350ºF. Place the chilled square of dough on a large piece of parchment paper and flour lightly. Roll into a large rectangle, around 1/4 inch thick. Transfer the dough with the parchment onto a large baking sheet.
- Bake for 18-22 minutes, or until the shortbread is very light brown. Remove from oven and allow the shortbread to cool on the baking sheet for 10 minutes. Then spread the raspberry jam into an even layer on top of the shortbread.
- Remove the frozen dough from the freezer and grate over the jam layer using the large holes of a box grater. The raspberry jam should be mostly covered in a layer of shredded dough. Transfer back to the oven and bake for another 20-25 minutes, or until the top is lightly golden browned. Let cool completely on the baking sheet.
- Once cooled, slice into bars of your desired size and optionally dust with powdered sugar. Enjoy at room temperature or slightly warmed!
Notes
For the best texture, I recommend sifting the flour with the cornstarch, but this step can be skipped if you are short on time or don’t have a sift.
If the dough has chilled for longer than 1 hour, it may be too stiff to roll out. Simply allow the dough to rest at room temperature for 5-10 minutes and then roll.
You can also grate the frozen dough into a separate pile and then sprinkle over the raspberry jam. If you don’t have a box grater, I recommend pulsing the dough in a food processor until it forms small/medium crumbs. Then sprinkle over the jam.
Make sure to let the bars cool completely before slicing. They are very delicate when warm and may fall apart if you try to cut them.
