These are good. These are really good. These are consider-not-telling-anyone-you-made-them-so-you-can-eat-them-all-yourself good. It's a recipe I've been making since high school, and it's one that I will be making for years to come.
I am going to go ahead and let you know from the get-go that these are not whip up in 30 minutes crumb bars that are ready before you can bat an eye. These require a little extra time and effort but the results are killer-and well worth it.
You see that on the plate there? That's not cheese. It's dough! Frozen, shredded, shortbread dough. And it's there for a reason.
The theory is that freezing your dough and then shredding it allows there to be little pockets of air between the shreds, making shortbread that is fluffy and soft instead of super dense and crunchy. And I have to say, I really do think it works.
You put half of your shreds on the bottom of the pan, drizzle raspberry jam over them, then sprinkle the remaining dough on top. The result is buttery, soft goodness balanced by the sweet-tart punch of jam in the middle. So make these for your mom, your friends, your mom's friends and I promise no one will be disappointed.
Raspberry Crumb Bars
Makes 12-16 Squares
Ingredients:
- 2 sticks unsalted butter, slightly soft
- 2 egg yolks
- 1 cup granulated sugar
- 2 cups all purpose flour
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- 1/8 teaspoon salt
- 1/2 teaspoon vanilla
- 1/2 cup raspberry jam
- Powdered sugar, for dusting
Cream the butter until soft and fluffy. Add the egg yolks and mix until well combined. Add the sugar, flour, baking powder, salt, and vanilla and mix until it all starts to come together. Separate dough mixture into two equal size balls, wrap each in plastic, and freeze at least two hours or overnight.
Heat the oven to 350 degrees F.
Remove one ball of dough from the freezer and coarsely grate it on a box grater or using the grating attachment of a food processor. Sprinkle evenly into the bottom of a 8 or 9 inch square baking dish. Using a ziplock bag with the corner cut off (or a piping bag, if you're fancy), drizzle the raspberry jam over the layer of dough shreds. Take remaining dough ball out of the freezer, grate it, and sprinkle evenly over the jam.
Bake for 50-60 minutes, until golden brown on the edges. Remove from oven and dust with powdered sugar. Allow to cool completely before slicing and serving.
Adapted from smitten kitchen