Raspberry Crumb Bars
These Raspberry Crumb Bars feature fresh or frozen berries…and they’re the perfect fruity dessert for a warm summer day!
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Ah, fresh berries! I love berries so much that one of the first things we did when we bought this house was plant berry bushes all along the back fence. Fast forward 6 years (6 years already?!), and those berry bushes are quite happy. We end up with a nice haul of blackberries and raspberries every summer. I would include blueberries in the mix, but the birds always beat us to those. (I know you can put deer netting around the berries, and we did this back when we lived in Atlanta. But then it was almost impossible for us to get in and actually get the berries!)
My sister, mother and niece have been coming up to visit every summer, and one of little Blakely’s favorite things to do is pick raspberries off the bushes out back. She would go out every afternoon determined to find every ripe berry on the bush. That’s fine by me! As anyone with a young kid knows, if you find an activity that entertains them…run with it!
Robbie isn’t quite old enough to pick his own berries, but by next year he’ll become my garden assistant for sure. We have several different varieties of raspberry bushes, and some of them ripen early in the summer while others wait ’til the end. This way we get fresh berries all summer long! But raspberries ripen quickly, so we have to make sure to get out there every few days to pick the ripe ones.
After seeing our crazy raspberry patch, my Mom went back to Nashville last summer and planted her own. Sure enough, the bushes came back this year and Mom had a handful of fresh berries. (My Mom has a crazy green thumb, and I just wish I had half the knowledge she does when it comes to gardening!)
Raspberry Crumb Bars
Speaking of raspberries, I decided to use them as the central flavor in these Raspberry Crumb Bars. Now I did use frozen berries from the store for this recipe mainly because I didn’t want to part with 4 cups of our fresh berries. I’d much prefer eating those straight out out of the garden!
The fun thing about these Raspberry Crumb Bars is that the fruit layer is all fruit. The berries bake down and almost look like jam…but it’s just a layer of berries. And you could totally do this with blueberries or blackberries or a mix of all berries. Have fun with it! The other fun thing is the crumb topping. Holy yum, Batman! This crumb topping is a shortcake base that gets crumbled on top of the fresh berries. Actually, the crumb topping is the same as the crust…you just save some of the crust to crumble on top. Nice and easy!
Hopefully this warm summer weather is treating you well so far. Enjoy these Raspberry Crumb Bars, my friends!
Did you make a batch of these Raspberry Crumb Bars at home? Leave a comment. Or snap a photo and tag me on Instagram (@Spicedblog). Cheers!
Looking for more tasty summer desserts? Check out these other favorites, too:
Blueberry Streusel Muffins
Chocolate Chip Zucchini Bread
Strawberry Pretzel Pie
Fresh Blueberry Cheesecake
No Bake Lemon Cheesecake
Raspberry Crumb Bars
Ingredients
For the Crust
- 1 cup unsalted butter, melted
- 3 cups all-purpose flour
- 1 tsp baking powder
- ½ tsp cinnamon
- ½ cup granulated sugar
- ¾ cup brown sugar
- 2 large eggs beaten
- 1 tsp almond extract
For the Raspberries
- ¼ cup granulated sugar
- 1 Tbsp lemon juice
- 1½ Tbsp cornstarch
- 4 cups raspberries fresh or frozen
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 375°F.
- Lightly grease a 9”x13” baking pan.
- Using a medium bowl, add melted butter, flour, baking powder, cinnamon, sugar and brown sugar; stir until well combined. Add beaten eggs and almond extract; stir until well combined.
- Remove 1½ cups of this mixture and set aside. Press remaining mixture into prepared baking pan.
- In a separate bowl, stir together the sugar, lemon juice and cornstarch. Add raspberries and gently stir until well combined. Spread raspberry mixture evenly into baking pan.
- Crumble the remaining crust mixture evenly on top of raspberry layer. (Tip: It’s ok to leave some of the crust in larger chunks here!)
- Bake for 44-46 minutes, or until crumb topping is light golden brown. Let pan cool completely before slicing into bars. (Tip: The bars will be easier to slice if you refrigerate them first.)
We have wild blackberry bushes that grow in our backyard. I would love to plant some raspberry bushes the berry are so yummy. Your raspberry crumb bars are the perfect way to use raspberries. They look so yummy!!
No way! I love that you have wild blackberries in your backyard, Dawn! I used to pick wild blackberries at my grandmother’s house in South Carolina…and I still remember it. 🙂 Raspberries are super easy to grow (at least in our area), so you should totally give ’em a shot! And then you should use those fresh berries to make some of these crumb bars. Haha! Thanks, my friend!
OH, I really love baking with berries and rasberries,even better.These rasberry crumb bars look amazing David, and they must taste so delicious as well. I also love growing berries, I started blackberries in an old wheelbarrow last summer and now they are growing like crazy. It is really fun walking around the garden and picking delicious berries ….but you have to beat the birds to it first😁
Have a great weekend!😃
I totally agree with you about baking with berries, Ashika! The only problem is making sure I don’t eat them all before they end up in the recipe. Hah! These crumb bars seriously are delicious, and I’m thinking they would work with all sorts of berries. I’ll have to try them with blackberries now! And I agree with you about having to beat the wildlife…that’s always the challenge with gardens and fruit. But it’s still fun to watch the plants grow!
Hi David. This type of bar is a favorite here. I make one that is very similar, but it does use preserves. We planted raspberry bushes when we first moved here and had great berry crops for several years. Then they just starting dying off. The hard clay “soil” here just kills some things of, it did in our rhubarb too.
Oh no! I’m sorry to hear about the raspberry tragedy down there, but I do totally remember the clay “soil.” We had the same problem in our yard in Atlanta. I remember trying to dig holes to plant some evergreens (along our property line), and it was like trying to dig a hole in concrete! 🙂
There is nothing better than eating ripe berries right from the bush – Blakely certainly got this one right and I am sure Robbie will join her soon as I remember from one of your previous posts he already loves smelling all sorts of plants in your garden 🙂 Love summer treats with all sorts of fruits & berries and your raspberry crumb bars look irresistible!
Wow, you’ve got a great memory, Miriam! Robbie does indeed love smelling all sorts of plants…even the ones that don’t smell. 🙂 And Robbie loves all berries, so as soon as he realizes they grow right in his backyard, then it’s gonna be trouble! Dad will have to fight him to get enough berries to keep making crumb bars. Haha! Thanks so much, my friend!
David!! what a cutie your niece is! I love when I can pick any fresh fruit and use it right away in the kitchen there is a quality and a freshness to it you can’t get elsewhere. These crumb bars look fantastic! Have a great weekend!
Oh, little Blakely is indeed a cutie! You should’ve seen her picking those raspberries. She’d go out each afternoon and look for new ripe ones to pick. 🙂 These crumb bars turned out so well, and they’ll definitely be making an appearance again this summer once our raspberries in the backyard finally come in. Thanks, Gaila!!
I’m so jealous you have berries right in your backyard! I need your mom to come help in my garden because I kill everything I try to grow. We had raspberries in our backyard when I was a kid and I LOVED picking them so Robbie will be in heaven net year, I’m sure! Love these bars, David! Have a great weekend!
Well…to be fair, you live in like 150°F weather, Kelsie. Everything dies there! Except cacti I guess. I wonder if you can make Cactus Crumb Bars? 😉
This bars look so tasty! I love fruit-filled bars, even the store-bought ones that don’t look 1/10 as awesome as these bars. And I’m jealous of your raspberry patch! I have a lot of herbs growing, and my peppers & tomatoes are starting to come in, but I haven’t had any luck growing berries in my backyard. I tried strawberries last year and it was a bust… but maybe I should try raspberries next. I love raspberries but find that store-bought ones go bad so.damn.fast!
I totally hear ya about baking with fruit, Nicole! I love it…but the hardest part is not eating all of the berries before the recipe is made. Haha! So we tried strawberries here, too, and they worked…but then the chipmunks absolutely destroyed the crop every year while the berries were still green. So no more strawberries. The chippies leave the raspberries and blackberries alone for some reason, so that totally works. Give raspberries a shot! I know we live in different places, but our raspberry bushes are growing like wildfire!
I just bought our first raspberries of the year today! And these bars are a beautiful way to use them – perfect 4th of July treat!!
Such sweet photos, David. Hope you have a wonderful weekend.
Yay to fresh summer berries! These bars were so easy to make, and the fresh berries really packed in a ton of flavor. Thanks so much for your kind words, my friend! 🙂
I hoping my raspberries will be ripe in the next couple of weeks! I do still have a couple of frozen bags in the freezer right now. These bars would be a huge hit in my house.
Oh, I totally remember your amazing raspberry crop, Kathy! I kinda want to just come and hide in your backyard and eat all the berries. Is that allowed? 🙂 So those frozen berries would be great for these bars. And you do need to make space for the current batch that’s coming in soon, right? 😉 Thanks so much, my friend!
Oh La La it’s dessert time! I love savory but I really love sweet 🙂 Lets not even get me started on raspberries and crumbles. I’m with you, I love berries to David, Raspberries, and Blueberries are my favorite 🙂 Your niece is adorable. I wish you posted a picture of your Mom, I bet she’s stunning. My Mom has a brown thumb, I have a green one and she’s starting to get the hang of it.
It is definitely dessert time, Mary! Heck, it’s always dessert time in our house. The challenge is not eating all of the dessert in one sitting. Haha! Summer berries are one of my all-time favorite things about this time of the year, and these bars turned out so well. Hmmm…a photo of my Mom, eh? I happen to have a family photo from our recent vacation, and I have a post planned for a couple of weeks now. I’ll include it! 🙂 Thanks so much, my friend!
I thought of putting berry bushes around our fence too and this has definitely inspired me to do so! And, seriously, how awesome to pick your own berries right in your own yard and make such a delicious dessert!! Can’t get much fresher than that, can ya! Pinning these beauties! Can’t wait to hear about your vacation 🙂
Oh, you should totally go put berry bushes around your fence line, Dawn! We did it as soon as we moved in, and the blackberries and raspberries are going crazy. Plus, the blackberries really like having the fence for support. These bars turned out so well, too! 🙂 And, yes, I have some fun vacation posts planned for the coming weeks…stay tuned there! And I hope you have a great week ahead, my friend!
“Holy yum, Batman!” INDEED!!! What’s mo yum than a crumb topping? Why –
one that’s a crumbled up shortcake base!!! Dude – these are amazing! I’m willing to bet I could eat the whole batch!
P.s sounds like they need to rename that deer netting to people and deer netting as it keeps even people away – eh?! 🙂
Haha! I love the ‘Holy yum, Batman’ line…I use that one occasionally myself! 🙂 So these bars turned out so darned well, Shashi. Summer berries are one of my favorite things about this time of the year. The hardest part is just not eating all of the berries before they make it into the dessert! And I wish I had a photo of our deer netting around the berries in Atlanta. That was seriously the craziest contraption I’ve ever built…well, maybe one of them. I’ve built some crazy contraptions in my time! Haha! Thanks so much, my friend!
David, you’ve made me jealous already. You have a garden where you grow fresh blackberries and raspberries?We’ve lived in our house for 5 years now and the back garden still has a lawn, a shed and nothing else done to it.I’m hoping I can get round to finding the time to get started on it next year, I’d love to grow our own food. These raspberry crumb bars would be such an excellent way to use fresh respberries from a garden. Still, at least at the moment in Scotland we do have a plentiful supply of fresh Scottish raspberries in the supermarket that I can get to make these.
Hope you have a fantastic 4th July. All the best to you and your family!
We do indeed have a garden along with some berry plants! We love to play around in the garden, although the rabbits have done a number on our stuff this year. Fortunately, they leave the berry plants alone, though! I totally say you should dig out some of the lawn and plant a garden and/or berry bushes. You have to fight the wildlife a bit, but it’s so much fun to watch the plants grow over time. Thanks so much for the kind words, Neil, and I hope you have a great week ahead, my friend!
This was a smart thing to plant different kinds of raspberry. This means either you or birds can enjoy fresh vitamins throughout all summer. Those raspberry crumb bars look fantastic, David! Indeed, if I turn my oven on during summer, I likely bake some simple berry or fruit things like bars, galettes, or crumbles. Because simplicity is the main ingredient of any summer, right?
Well done!
So I agree that planting the different varieties of raspberries totally worked…but I have to admit that it was sort of a mistake. But then when we realized what we had done, it was like “Oh, ok! That’s cool!” I love baking with summer berries, too, and these bars turned out quite well. Thanks so much, Ben!
They look like a great snack-I could easily eat a couple and not feel guilty!
Oh, I think I ate a couple of these raspberry bars myself! And that was before Laura and Robbie got home. No one was the wiser! 🙂
These look amazing! I’m a huge sweets fan!
Have an awesome day!
xx, Kris
https://dreamingofpink.wordpress.com
Why thank you very much, Kris! I have a bit of a sweet tooth as well, and I love baking with summer berries. Thanks for stopping by and commenting! 🙂
These look delicious and i love how simple the recipe is! I love berries too
This recipe is totally easy, Cara! And I’m guessing it would work with all sorts of summer berries. I want to give this one a shot with blackberries next…those are one of my all-time favorite berries! 🙂 Thanks so much for stopping by and commenting!