I’VE NEVER HAD MUCH SUCCESS MAKING RASPBERRY BARS. it’s one of the easiest desserts to make, but for some reason, it always ends up turning into a complete catastrophe. recently, i saw this recipe from ina garten’s new cookbook floating around pinterest and decided to give it a try. i’ve always had great results with ina’s recipes, and this one was no exception. these raspberry bars are incredible! what caught my attention about this particular recipe is that it calls for granola in the crumble topping. i’m obsessed with homemade granola and decided use my favorite recipe. if you would also like to use my granola recipe for these raspberry bars, i would recommend NOT baking the granola first, and do not add any nuts to the granola mixture {you’ll be sprinkling almonds on top of the bars before baking}. the granola should only include oats, honey, coconut oil, and coconut flakes {optional}. the granola will bake on top of the bars for 40-45 minutes and will be perfectly toasted. you will have leftover granola since not all of it will be used on the topping for the bars. just follow the remainder of the granola recipe by adding in the nuts, and bake the granola while you bake the bars. easy!

RASPBERRY CRUMBLE BARS
from barefoot contessa foolproof by ina garten
makes 12-16 squares

½ pound {2 sticks} unsalted butter, at room temperature
¾ cup sugar
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
2 1/3 cups all-purpose flour {i used whole wheat pastry flour}
½ teaspoon kosher salt
10 to 12 ounces good raspberry jam
2/3 cup good granola without dried fruit {see note above about using my granola recipe}
1/4 cup sliced almonds

preheat the oven to 350 degrees. line a 9-inch square baking pan with parchment paper {see how to do that here}

place the butter and sugar in the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment and mix on medium speed just until combined {a hand mixer works just fine}.  with the mixer on low, add the vanilla.

sift the flour and salt together and, with the mixer on low, slowly add to the butter mixture, mixing until it almost comes together in a ball.  turn the dough out on a board.  lightly pat two-thirds of the dough evenly on the bottom of a 9-inch square baking pan and about ¼ inch up the sides.  spread with the jam, leaving a ¼-inch border.  mix the granola into the remaining dough with your hands.  break the dough into small bits, and distribute it on top of the jam, covering most of the surface.  sprinkle the almonds on top.  bake the bars for 40-45 minutes, until lightly browned.

cool completely and cut into 12-16 bars.