Description
Delight in these Raspberry Streusel Shortbread Bars featuring a buttery shortbread base, a sweet and tangy raspberry jam layer, and a crumbly cinnamon-scented streusel topping. Perfect for a dessert or an afternoon treat, these bars combine rich textures and vibrant flavors in every bite.
Ingredients
Scale
Shortbread Base
- 1 cup unsalted butter, softened
- 2/3 cup granulated sugar
- 2 cups all-purpose flour
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
Filling
- 1 cup raspberry jam (seedless preferred)
Streusel Topping
- 1/2 cup all-purpose flour
- 1/3 cup brown sugar, packed
- 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 1/4 cup unsalted butter, cold and cubed
Instructions
- Preheat and Prepare Pan: Preheat your oven to 350°F (175°C). Grease or line a 9×13-inch baking pan with parchment paper, ensuring there is an overhang for easy removal of the bars later.
- Cream Butter and Sugar: In a large bowl, cream together the softened butter and granulated sugar until the mixture is light and fluffy. This helps create a tender, melt-in-your-mouth shortbread base.
- Add Vanilla and Dry Ingredients: Mix in the vanilla extract. Gradually add the all-purpose flour and salt, stirring just until combined, to form the shortbread dough without overworking it.
- Form the Base Layer: Press about two-thirds of the dough evenly into the prepared baking pan to create an even base layer for the bars.
- Spread Raspberry Jam: Evenly spread the raspberry jam over the shortbread layer, ensuring a consistent sweet and tangy filling layer.
- Make Streusel Topping: In a separate bowl, combine the flour, brown sugar, and ground cinnamon. Cut in the cold, cubed butter using a pastry cutter or your fingers until the mixture resembles coarse crumbs.
- Add Streusel Over Jam: Sprinkle the streusel mixture evenly over the raspberry jam layer, covering it well for that classic crumbly topping.
- Top with Remaining Dough: Crumble the remaining one-third of the shortbread dough over the streusel topping in small pieces to create a textured top layer.
- Bake: Place the pan in the preheated oven and bake for 35-40 minutes until the top is golden brown and the jam is bubbly, indicating the bars are fully cooked.
- Cool and Cut: Let the bars cool completely in the pan to allow the layers to set before lifting out the parchment and cutting into 12 bars for serving.
Notes
- For a seedless jam, choose seedless raspberry preserves if you prefer a smooth texture.
- If you don’t have a pastry cutter, you can use two forks or your fingers to cut the butter into the streusel mixture.
- Make sure the butter for the streusel is cold to achieve the proper crumbly texture.
- Cooling completely before cutting helps the bars hold their shape and prevents crumbling.
- Store bars in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 3 days or refrigerate for up to a week.
