Easy to make raspberry dessert bar layered with shortbread crust, raspberry filling, and streusel on top!
Raspberry Bars
I don’t like doing laundry, it’s the worst. My husband does the laundry, and now my son is old enough to do his laundry. It’s a beautiful thing! I will gladly do anything else around the house though, like organize, mow, or shovel.
Every time I am mowing the lawn by myself I always wonder if the people passing by think my husband is lazy. The truth of the matter is, we do it together. We do just about every thing together, as a team. Except sometimes I do it by myself as a gift to my husband. If he has to work late, the last thing he’s going to feel like doing is mowing the lawn.
As I mow the lawn and wonder what the people think, I also think to myself… they have no idea what my husband does for me! I don’t like doing the laundry, or the dishes for that matter so he does it. He helps clean the house, I never have to nag him about taking out the garbage, and I never, ever have to pick up after him. We certainly beat the stereotypical odds!
This is a good reminder that things are not always what they seem. I mow the lawn or shovel the sidewalk because I actually enjoy doing it. I love being outside and I like working hard. And at the same time it’s a thank you gift to my husband for all he does for me!
If you need a thank you gift, make these Raspberry Streusel Shortbread Bars! They are fantastic! Another option to thank someone in your life could be to bake them a batch of the Best Soft Chocolate Chip Cookies or the Best Blueberry Muffins, too!
What You’ll Need for the Crust:
- 1/2 cup Butter, Melted
- 1/4 cup Sugar
- 1 tsp Vanilla
- 1/4 tsp Salt
- 1 cup Flour
For the Raspberry Filling:
- 3/4 cup Raspberry Preserves
- 1 cup Fresh Raspberries
The Streusel Topping:
- 1/2 cup Old Fashioned Oats
- 1/3 cup Brown Sugar
- 1/4 tsp Cinnamon
- 1/4 cup Flour
- 1/4 cup Butter, Cold
And the Icing:
- 1 cup Powdered Sugar
- 2-3 tbsp Almond/Soy Milk
- 1/2 tsp Vanilla
How to Make Raspberry Streusel Shortbread Bars
- Preheat the oven to 300 degrees. Spray a 8 x 8 baking pan with non-stick spray.
- Make the crust. Mix together 1/2 cup melted butter, 1/1/ cup sugar, 1 tsp vanilla extract, and 1/4 tsp salt. After mixed together well, add in 1 cup flour. Mix until well combined.
- Press crust mixture into the prepared pan evenly and bake for 15 minutes.
- While the crust is baking, make the streusel. Combine 1/2 cup old fashioned oats, 1/3 cup brown sugar, 1/4 tsp ground cinnamon, and 1/4 cup flour. Mix well. Add in 1/4 cup cold, cubed butter. Cut butter into the mixture until crumbly. Set aside.
- Remove from the oven and turn oven up to 350 degrees.
- Spread 3/4 cup raspberry preserves over the warm crust. Sprinkle a handful of fresh raspberries over the preserves.
- Sprinkle the streusel mixture over the raspberries and bake for 30-35 minutes or until the streusel is golden brown. The raspberry filling should be bubbling on the edges.
- Remove from the oven and let cool to room temperature, then chill in the refrigerator. (Recommended chilling time is 2 hours)
- Once chilled, make the icing by combining 1 cup powdered sugar, 2-3 tbsp milk, and 1/2 tsp vanilla extract. Mix until icing consistency is formed. To thin the icing, add a little more milk. To thicken the icing, add a little more powdered sugar.
Recipe Notes & Substitutions:
- Butter – You must use cold butter for the streusel – not warm butter, melted butter, or room temperature butter. It must be cold butter.
- Fruit preserves – You can use any fruit preserves and fresh fruit, you don’t have to use raspberries.
- Icing – You will likely have more icing than you need. So you can save it to use for later, make half the recipe, or double this batch and use a 9 x 13 pan instead.
- Vegan – You can easily swap the butter for vegan butter and the milk for almond/soy milk.
More Desserts with Fruit:
- Apple Dumplings with Crescent Rolls + VIDEO
- Fresh Southern Peach Cobbler
- Frozen Yogurt Granola Cups
- Easy Blueberry Oatmeal Crumble Bars
- Strawberries & Cream Crumb Bars
- Apple Pie Bars
More Dessert Bars:
- Golden Graham S’mores Bars
- No Bake Chocolate Peanut Butter Oat Bars
- No Bake Reese’s Peanut Butter Bars
- Easy Carmelita Bars
- Buckeye Brownies with Brownie Mix
- Pecan Pie Cheesecake Bars
Raspberry Streusel Shortbread Bars
Raspberry Streusel Shortbread Bars, easy to make raspberry dessert bar layered with shortbread crust, raspberry filling, and streusel on top!
Ingredients
Crust
- 1/2 cup Butter, Melted
- 1/4 cup Sugar
- 1 tsp Vanilla Extract
- 1/4 tsp Salt
- 1 cup Flour
Raspberry Filling
- 3/4 cup Raspberry Preserves
- 1 cup Fresh Raspberries
Streusel Topping
- 1/2 cup Old Fashioned Oats
- 1/3 cup Brown Sugar
- 1/4 tsp Ground Cinnamon
- 1/4 cup Flour
- 1/4 cup Cold, Cubed Butter
Icing
- 1 cup Powdered Sugar
- 2-3 tbsp Milk
- 1/2 tsp Vanilla Extract
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 300 degrees. Spray a 8 x 8 baking pan with non-stick spray.
- Make the crust. Mix together butter, sugar, vanilla extract, and salt. After mixed together well, add in flour. Mix until well combined.
- Press crust mixture into the prepared pan evenly and bake for 15 minutes.
- While the crust is baking, make the streusel. Combine the old fashioned oats, brown sugar, ground cinnamon, and flour. Add in cold, cubed butter. Cut butter into the mixture until crumbly. Set aside.
- Remove from the oven and turn oven up to 350 degrees.
- Spread raspberry preserves over the warm crust. Sprinkle a handful of fresh raspberries over the preserves.
- Sprinkle the streusel mixture over the raspberries and bake for 30-35 minutes or until the streusel is golden brown. The raspberry filling should be bubbling on the edges.
- Remove from the oven and let cool to room temperature, then chill in the refrigerator. (Recommended chilling time is 2 hours.)
- Once chilled, make the icing. Combine the powdered sugar, milk, and vanilla extract. Mix until icing consistency is formed. To thin the icing, add a little more milk. To thicken the icing, add a little more powdered sugar.