Raspberry Breakfast Bars

First things first. Thanks to all of you lovely people who voted for Lottie + Doof as your favorite home cooking blog over at The Kitchn. I really appreciate the support. I know the contest was sort of confusing and that it was difficult to vote, but I am happy to have participated. I started Lottie + Doof as a place to share what I was cooking and thinking with anyone who wanted to listen (I am still surprised that anyone includes people other than my close friends). Not only do you read- you have all been so supportive. I truly appreciate it. I will happily keep cooking and recording what I eat here. I also hope to add some special guest features and more restaurant and book reviews in upcoming months. I think exciting things are ahead for L + D.

I have recently received emails from some of you containing photos of the things you made from recipes found on the site. So thrilling! Anything I can do to encourage home cooking and good eating makes me happy. Keep sending the photos my way, I would like to feature them on the site sometime soon.

Now, on to the food. When I received my copy of Baked in the mail a few months ago there were two recipes that really caught my eye. The first was that sour cream coffee cake which I still maintain is one of the best things ever. Ever. The second thing I made were these raspberry breakfast bars that are also delicious. Best of all, I believe they must be healthy since they have the word breakfast in the title (they contain oatmeal and fruit? Right?). These are as good for dessert or a mid-afternoon snack as they are for breakfast.They’re really simple to make and produce a minimum number of dishes to wash, always a welcome thing. We’ve been eating them for breakfast this week. It’s been a good week.

Raspberry Breakfast Bar

For the crust and crumb:

  • 1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
  • 1 cup firmly packed dark brown sugar
  • 1 1/4 cups rolled oats
  • 3/4 teaspoon salt
  • 3/4 teaspoon baking powder
  • 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
  • 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
  • 12 tablespoons unsalted butter, cut into 1-inch pieces

For the raspberry filling:

  • 1/4 cup firmly packed dark brown sugar
  • 1 tablespoon grated lemon zest
  • 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
  • 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
  • 1 pound raspberries, fresh or frozen
  • 1/4 cup fresh lemon juice
  • 2 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted and cooled.

Make the crust and crumb: Preheat the oven to 350°F. Butter the bottom and sides of a 9-by-13-inch glass or light-colored metal baking pan. Put a long piece of parchment paper in the bottom of the pan, letting the parchment extend up the two short sides of the pan and overhang slightly on both ends. (This will make it easy to remove the bars from the pan after they have baked.) Butter the parchment.

Put the flour, brown sugar, oats, salt, baking powder, baking soda, and cinnamon in a food processor. Pulse in short bursts until combined. Add the butter and pulse until loose crumbs form.

Reserve 1 1/4 cup of the mixture and set aside.  Pour the rest of the mixture into the prepared pan and use your hands or the back of a large wooden spoon to push the crust into an even layer at the bottom of the pan. Bake until golden brown, 15 minutes . Transfer to a wire rack and let the crust cool. Keep the oven on while you make the raspberry filling.

Make the raspberry filling: In a medium bowl, whisk the sugar, lemon zest, cinnamon and flour together. Add the raspberries, lemon juice and butter and use your hands to toss gently until the raspberries are evenly coated.

Assemble and bake the bars: Spread the raspberry filling evenly on top of the cooled crust. Sprinkle the reserved crust mixture evenly on top of the filling.

Bake for 40 to 45 minutes, rotating the pan every 15 minutes, until the top is golden brown and the filling starts to bubble around the edges.

Transfer to a wire rack to cool completely, then cut into squares and serve. The bars can be stored in the refrigerator in an airtight container for up to two days.

20 comments to “Raspberry Breakfast Bars”

  1. This reminds me of one of my all-time favorites – blueberry buckle. I enjoy it every year on the Fourth of July, and this is bringing back warm, summer memories. Can’t wait to try this out. Thanks!

  2. sarahkeith says:

    January 7th, 2009 at 7:46 am

    This looks fantastic! I can’t wait to try it….

    I made your Cranberry Vanilla coffee cake for my christmas eve party, and served it with my great-grandpa’s eggnog recipe, and it was AMAZING. Thank you.

  3. This is making my mouth water…as do most everything you post about. I thoroughly enjoy your site. I think you should have placed much higher in the vote count for the Homies award at AT and I made a post to that regard on my own site today if you are interested you can stop by and check it out.

    my best,
    Rochelle

  4. I just stumbled upon your site and was thrilled to find an egg-free cookie (sorry, I mean breakfast!) recipe — my son is egg-allergic and baking for him can be challenging. I’ll be trying this over the weekend and coming back here regularly — your other recipes and photos are lovely. Thanks!

  5. This looks yummy and fairly nutritious too – not too much sugar in there for a breakfast. It will be a delicious change from my usual oatmeal.

  6. Rochelle- Thanks so much! And thanks for the nice mention on Studio G!

    Sarahkeith- So glad you liked it, seems like a really good choice for Christmas.

    Margaret- Shortbread would also be a good choice for your son, there are few good recipes on the site for shortbread cookies.

  7. Yummmmm!!!This looks soooo good and also looks sooo easy. I can’t wait to make this with my Granddaughter this weekend. Thanks!

  8. Those breakfast bars look good!

  9. I want Sarahkeith’s great grandpa’s egg nog recipe! (oh, and i am going to try these very soon!)

  10. These look great! I tried them myself — got into a bit of a mishap — but I think I’ll do better next time. Thanks for the inspiration!

    http://foodiesocialworker.blogspot.com/2009/01/raspberry-breakfast-bars.html

  11. I made these this evening, and they turned out fantastically.

    Thanks so much for sharing the recipe!

  12. The original calls for 12 tbs. of butter in the crust. Did you make this with half the butter (as you listed in the recipe)? Or is this just a misprint on the blog? Just wondering if it comes out well even with half the butter.

  13. Meg- No, you caught a major typo (and my worst blog nightmare)! So sorry about that, updated above.

  14. My eight year-old daughter and I made this last week and had a ball. This is one of those recipes that really keeps little hands busy (measuring, pouring, mixing, patting down the crust, etc.) without being completely over their heads.

    Absolutely delicious. As a bonus this also makes a FANTASTIC dessert served with vanilla ice cream.

  15. The recipe was DELICIOUS! I had to bring them over to a friend’s house for fear of eating them all myself in one sitting. I used mixed berries, which worked well. Only thing is that the lemon flavor was a bit overwhelming – I would use about half the amount. Thanks for the recipe!

  16. Glad you enjoyed it, Annie! I really love these bars too.

  17. I am a little confused by someone’s comment about an original error in the amount of butter used in the crust. Is 12 tbsp. the correct amount? Thanks!

  18. Hi Tracy: 12 tbsps is the correct amount. The recipe is correct.

  19. Thanks for responding so quickly, Tim! I’m making these bars for a co-worker’s birthday breakfast tomorrow.

  20. if I use frozen berries should They be thawed and drained or just throw them in frozen?

What do you think?