Happy Valentine’s Day! Or Happy Anti-Valentine’s Day if you prefer.
If you’re a planner, then Valentine’s Day dessert is likely in the bag. You’ve ordered your chocolates, baked your cookies or at least purchased your ingredients for the big day.
But if the week slipped by, and you’re scrambling for a quick treat — we’ve got just the thing: Raspberry bars made with jam and shortbread. Perfect.
I have to admit, I actually made these lovelies for the Super Bowl. But the pretty raspberry jam squished in the middle of the buttery shortbread made me think they would be perfect for Valentine’s Day. And they are!
The secret? Good jam and a great recipe. Mine is circa Ina Garten, her Raspberry Crumble Bars to be exact. I know, I know! I share way too many Barefoot Contessa recipes.
But I just couldn’t resist — the woman really knows her way around a shortbread!
The recipe is really easy to follow and the ingredients list is short. Butter, flour, sugar, vanilla , salt raspberry jam and almonds.
If you can read, you can make this decadent dessert. The sweet to salty ratio works really well here because the raspberry jam is tart, and the shortbread is buttery and not overly sweet.
Enjoy the holiday however you choose to celebrate (or not celebrate).
1/2 pound (2 sticks) unsalted butter, at room temperature
3/4 cup sugar
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
2-1/3 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
10 to 12 ounces good raspberry jam, such as Hero
2/3 cup good granola without dried fruit
1/4 cup sliced almonds
Confectioners’ sugar, for sprinkling
1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.
2. 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. With the mixer on low, add the vanilla.
3. 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 1/4-inch up the sides. Spread with the jam, leaving a 1/4-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 45 minutes, until lightly browned.
4. Cool completely and cut into 9 or 12 bars. Sprinkle lightly with confectioners’ sugar.
Kim A
Kim is a public relations pro by day, homebody by night. Kim worked as a newspaper features writer for more than a decade and she has written hundreds of stories on others' homes. But she is still discovering her own style. Kim and her husband are renovating their late-1950s home, making it their own. For Kim, staying home is a destination. She frequently entertains friends and family, so keeping it simple and comfortable is important (with the exception of her closets – her shopping and bargain-hunting habits take up some serious space). Kim’s perfect place is snuggled up in her PJs eating a homemade meal in front of the TV with her husband.
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