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Raspberry Streusel Bars:  Scrumptious berry bars with a melt in your mouth oatmeal crumb topping made with fresh or frozen berries!

With a sweet oatmeal crust, a layer of fresh berries and jam plus a crumble topping, how could you resist these divine Raspberry Bars?

Raspberry Streusel Bars on a white tray
Table of Contents hide
1 Why You Should Make Raspberry Crumble Bars
2 Frequently Asked Questions
3 How to Make Raspberry Oatmeal Bars
4 Tips for Making Raspberry Squares
5 Ingredient Notes
6 More Cookie Recipes You’ll Love
7 Don’t Forget to Subscribe!
8 Raspberry Streusel Bars

Why You Should Make Raspberry Crumble Bars

I made these jewel-toned beauties to share with my girlfriends at our “knitting” group. They knit; I chat and bring goodies.  My friends are much better at giving me an honest critique…at home, the comments range from “good” to “eh” to “terrific.”

  • This is an easy dessert to showcase fresh raspberries when there’s no time to make a more time-consuming recipe like a raspberry pie.
  • These can be served as finger food, so perfect for summer barbecues, picnics, or any casual gatherings.
  • Oatmeal and fresh raspberries provide a wee bit of fiber and Vitamin C. This may be a bit of a stretch, but healthier than chocolate mousse!

Frequently Asked Questions

Do Raspberry Bars Need to Be Refrigerated?

They can be kept at room temperature for 1-2 days. After that, it’s best to refrigerate to prevent them from spoiling.

How Should these Bars Be Stored?

Keep them covered with foil or in an airtight container at room temperature for the first day or so. They are best eaten fresh. After that, store in the refrigerator or freeze for up to 3 months.

How Do You Make a Crumb Topping?

Melted (or even softened) butter is mixed with the dry ingredients until crumbly. Then sprinkle over the berry filling using your fingers to pinch some of the crumbs into larger crumbs.

How Do You Bake a Crumb Topping?

With this recipe, the crumb topping is baked along with the filling. Bake until the filling is bubbly and the crumble is lightly browned.

Can these Bars Be Made with Frozen Raspberries?

Yes, but you may want to add a little more flour to the mix to account for the juiciness of frozen berries. Defrost the berries before using them.

What Else Can You Make with Fresh Raspberries?

I love making raspberry pie, peach raspberry pie, raspberry crisp, and an array of different raspberry bars. Raspberries are also delicious in parfaits, fruit salads, and more.

Two rasbperry Crumble bars on a white dessert plate with 2 red handled forks

How to Make Raspberry Oatmeal Bars

My picky hubby only likes his oatmeal for breakfast, cooked to a nearly inedible consistency and loaded with brown sugar. But he’s not a fan of oatmeal in any kind of dessert. Sigh. I keep on trying!

  1. Preheat your oven and line the baking pan with non-stick foil
  2. Mix together the crumb topping.
  3. Use part of the crumbs for the crust and reserve part for the crumble.
  4. Press part of the crumbs onto the bottom of the pan for the crust and bake.
  5. Cool the crust a bit, spread the mixture of jam, berries, lemon juice, and zest on top. Crumble the reserved topping over the berry filling.
  6. Bake, cool, cut into bars, and enjoy!

The hubby does not know what he’s missing as these raspberry streusel bars were spectacular. The crew made these disappear so I didn’t have the task of eating them ALL myself (what a tortuous job that would have been!).

The original recipe called for fresh blueberries with raspberry jam, but I swapped out the blueberries for raspberries. I think any combination of complementary berries and jams would work well. Note that these bars are best on the day they’re baked, but they’re still pretty irresistible after that.

Overhead view of raspberry oatmeal bars on a whie serving tray

Tips for Making Raspberry Squares

  •  Choose red, plump raspberries without signs of deterioration.
  • If you’d like thicker bars, use an 8-inch square pan instead of a 9-inch. Your bars may take a few more minutes to bake in the smaller pan.
  • I like to line my baking pans with non-stick foil. Besides preventing the bars from sticking to the pan, the foil also doubles as a sling to help lift the cool bars out of the pan and easily transfer them to a cutting board.
  •  Bake the crust first, let cool a bit, add the toppings, and finish baking.
  • As mentioned in the recipe, use fresh lemons for the juice and the zest. One large lemon gave me enough for both.
  • For a more elegant dessert, serve one of these raspberry bars in a bowl next to a scoop of vanilla ice cream with a few fresh raspberries to garnish!

Ingredient Notes

  • Oatmeal – Classic oats were called for in the original recipe but quick oats will do in a pinch
  • All-purpose Flour
  • Brown Sugar – If you need an emergency substitution, add a tablespoon of molasses to a cup of white, granulated sugar. Mix thoroughly (using your fingers helps to completely incorporate the molasses) and use as directed.
  • Butter – Melted, although softened was used in the original recipe. I always use salted butter in my recipes, unless otherwise noted. Salt is a flavor enhancer that’s needed in desserts, too.
  • Fresh or Frozen Raspberries – Defrost frozen raspberries. If they’re really juicy, consider adding some extra flour. Fresh berries work best.
  • Lemon Peel – I used a fine zest from one whole lemon. Make sure to zest before you squeeze the lemon.
  • Fresh Lemon Juice – Always use fresh lemon juice, never bottled, for the best flavor.
2 raspberry Oatmeal Bars on a white dessert plate

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This raspberry bars recipe was first shared in November 2013. Photos and text were updated in 2021.

Two raspberry bars stacked on a square white plate with fresh raspberries and mint to garnish
The Recipe:

Raspberry Streusel Bars

Prep Time 20 minutes
Cook Time 25 minutes
Total Time 45 minutes
Yield 16 servings

Lovely berry bars with an oatmeal streusel topping!

Ingredients

  • 1 1/2 cups oatmeal (classic or quick oats)
  • 1 and 1/4 cups flour
  • 1/2 cup brown sugar
  • 1 1/2 sticks of butter (3/4 cup or 6 ounces), melted
  • 1 1/2 cups of fresh or frozen raspberries
  • 1/2 cup of raspberry preserves
  • 1 tablespoon flour
  • 1 tablespoon lemon peel
  • 1 teaspoon fresh lemon juice

Instructions

  1. Preheat oven to 350º. Line 8 x 8 or 9 x 9-inch baking pan with nonstick foil.
  2. Combine oats, flour, sugar, and butter, mix until crumbly. Reserve 1 cup oat mixture for streusel topping and set aside.
  3. Press the remaining oat mixture into the bottom of an ungreased 9" square baking dish. Bake for 15 minutes or until golden brown. Cool slightly.
  4. In a medium bowl, combine preserves, raspberries, lemon peel, juice, and flour. Mix gently.
  5. Spread over crust. Sprinkle reserved oat mixture over top, patting down gently.
  6. Bake for 22-25 minutes or until light golden brown. Cool and cut into bars.

Notes

Use other berries for a twist on this recipe.

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Nutrition Information:

Yield:

9

Serving Size:

1
Amount Per Serving: Calories: 278Total Fat: 16gSaturated Fat: 10gTrans Fat: 1gUnsaturated Fat: 5gCholesterol: 40mgSodium: 132mgCarbohydrates: 33gFiber: 2gSugar: 20gProtein: 2g

Thatskinnychickcanbake.com occasionally offers nutritional information for recipes contained on this site. This information is provided as a courtesy and is an estimate only. This information comes from online calculators. Although thatskinnychickcanbake.com attempts to provide accurate nutritional information, these figures are only estimates. Varying factors such as product types or brands purchased can change the nutritional information in any given recipe. Also, many recipes on thatskinnychickcanbake.com recommend toppings, which may or may not be listed as optional and nutritional information for these added toppings is not listed. Other factors may change the nutritional information such as when the salt amount is listed “to taste,” it is not calculated into the recipe as the amount will vary. Also, different online calculators can provide different results. To obtain the most accurate representation of the nutritional information in any given recipe, you should calculate the nutritional information with the actual ingredients used in your recipe. You are solely responsible for ensuring that any nutritional information obtained is accurate.

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© Liz Berg
Cuisine: American / Category: Bar Cookies