Raspberry Breakfast Bars

When I was living in Costa Rica as a Peace Corps Volunteer, I'd go hiking up the mountains on the weekends. I'd snack on the sweet wild raspberries for sustenance, and come home with a few to make raspberry lemonade or raspberry tarts. Then I found a recipe on the Lottie and Doof blog from Baked: New Frontiers in Baking for making Raspberry Breakfast Bars. Several other food blogs have written published this recipe, and with reason! I love it because it basically combines an oatmeal cookie with raspberry pie filling. I imagine you could substitute pineapple or even apples for raspberries.

The bars last up to about 3 days. Keep them in the fridge in a Tupperware container so they'll stay firm.

Raspberry Breakfast Bars

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. (You can zap it in the microwave for 15 - 30 seconds.)

Make the crust and crumble first. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Butter the bottom and sides of a 9x13 inch glass or light-colored metal baking pan. Put a long piece of parchment paper covering the bottom of the pan, letting the parchment extend over the two short sides of the pan and hang slightly on both ends. Butter the parchment. (It's so important that you use parchment or else everything will just stick to the pan!)

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 buter and pulse until loose crumbs form. (Don't worry if you don't have a food processor. I always just use my hands.)

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 back of a large wooden spoon to push the crust into an even layer at the bottom of the pan. Bake until golden brown or 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. 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 40-45 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 cook completely, then cut into squares and serve.