Raspberry Delight

 

If you didn’t know this is the time to pick raspberries, and only for a little longer! We made a delicious raspberry treat the other day with sweet juicy raspberries hand picked from my friend Deanna White’s garden, it was so good, I had to share it! We affectionately call picking raspberries, “Berry Therapy,” because Dee’s raspberry patch is just that. It’s perfect out there, and the berries are magically sweet this year! We made a bunch of freezer jam (easier than I ever imagined), and had some left over….so we found this great recipe! Enjoy!!

Raspberry Crumble Delight

Adapted from King Arthur Flour Whole Grain Baking

A simple crumble bar with a cookie base and streusel topping,and a lot of raspberries in between!

Crust:  

3/4 cup (1 1/2 sticks, 6 oz) unsalted butter (I use Earth Balance or Smart Balance)

3/4 cup plus 2 Tablespoons (6 1/2 ounces) packed brown sugar

3/4 teaspoon sea salt

2 cups (8oz) flour (I use spelt)

1/3 cup (1 3/8 ounces) all-purpose flour (I use oat flour)

1/2 teaspoon baking powder

1/4 cup (2 oz) orange juice

2 teaspoons vanilla extract

Filling:

6 cups (two 12 oz bags) quick frozen raspberries (I hand picked mine at Deanna’s House)!

1 1/4 cups (9 3/8 ounces) brown sugar

6 Tablespoons (1 1/2 ounces) cornstarch

1/8 teaspoon salt

1 Tablespoon butter (or your favorite veggie spread)

1 Tablespoon freshly squeezed lemon juice

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1/4  teaspoon ground cinnamon

Topping:

3/4 cup (3 oz) flour (I dig the spelt)

2/3 cup (2 1/4 ounces) old-fashioned rolled oats

1/2 cup (3 3/4 ounces) brown sugar

1/4 teaspoon baking powder

1/4 teaspoon salt

1 Tablespoon orange juice

1/4 cup (1/2 stick, 2 ounces) cold butter or substitute

If using frozen berries, several hours before you make the bars, empty the bars into a large saucepan and allow to thaw…

Preheat oven to 300 degrees F. Lightly grease a 9 x 13-inch pan.

To prepare the crust:

Beat the butter, sugar, and salt in a medium bowl, then add the flours, baking powder, orange juice, and vanilla. Place the dough in the prepared pan, patting it until it covers the bottom. Smooth it out with your fingers. Prick the dough all over with a fork.

Bake the crust until it’s barely beginning to brown, about 40 minutes. Remove it from the oven and set it on a rack to cool. After just a couple minutes, run a knife around the edge to loosen the crust in the pan. Increase temp to 350 degrees.

To Prepare the filling:

Stir in the sugar, cornstarch and salt into the raspberries in the saucepan. Place the pan over medium heat and simmer. Cook, stirring constantly until it thickens, and loses it’s cloudiness. Remove from heat and mix in butter or substitute, lemon juice, vanilla, and cinnamon.

To prepare the topping:

Whisk the flour, oats, sugar, baking powder and salt in a medium bowl. Stir in orange juice, then work in the butter until the mixture is evenly crumbly.

Assemble and Bake! 

Spoon the raspberry filling over the baked crust. Sprinkle the topping over the filling. Bake the bars till the filling is bubbly and the topping is golden brown, 35 minutes or so. Remove the bars from the oven and let cool for for thirty minutes. Loosen bars from edge of pan with a knife and cut into generous squares. Really awesome with a scoop of frozen yogurt, or coconut milk ice cream!

 

Message me if you live in my area and would like to visit the White’s, she schedules appointments each week and would love to have some additional berry pickers!