Raspberry Squares

Just browsing magazines in Borders recently (slowly drifting from "Current Events" into the "Home Interests" section), I came across Cook's Illustrated Magazine. The cover was sort of dull, and the material inside did not really pique my interest. Just a day or two later, jonesing to begin cooking more "savory" dishes, I picked up America's Test Kitchen Cookbook from my local library (Ludington in Bryn Mawr), thanks to its reportedly "easy to follow" format. Not a minute after I had entered the front door, I realized that the two pieces of literautre were authored by the same editors! Irregardless, I decided to give it a shot, deciding upon a "Raspberry Squares" recipe -
yes, I know that I said I was looking to diversify into the savory realm of cooking, but I dawdled until the due date was a day away.

Working for Metropolitan Bakery, I've had my fair share of delightful Rapsberry Bars, but I was prepared to better their sometimes underbaked version. Donning my "Crisco Cookie Bake-Off" apron, I rustled up the necessary ingredients and cranked the oven up to 350 degrees.

Recipe:

1 1/2 cups (7.5 ounces) unbleached all-purpose flour
1 1/4 cups quick-cooking oats - I used "old-fashioned" oats, which supposedly take longer to cook.
1/3 cup (2.3 ounces) granulated sugar
1/3 cup packed light brown sugar
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup finely chopped pecans or almonds, or a combination
12 tablespoons (11/2 sticks) unsalted butter, cut into 12 pieces and softened but still cool
1 cup raspberry preserves - I believe I used more than 1 cup, still not overwhelming...

1. Adjust oven rack to lower-middle position and heat oven to 350 degrees. Spray 9-inch-square baking pan [I used glass, conclusion: DO NOT USE GLASS] with nonstick cooking spray. Fold two 16-inch pieces of foil lengthwise to measure 8 inches wide -[Make sure you do this so that when you attempt to remove the bars, the foil is not separating in the middle - this caused my bars to crack]. Fit one sheet in bottom of greased pan, pushing it into corners and up sides of pan (overhang will help in removal of baked squares). Fit second sheet in pan in same manner, perpendicular to first sheet. Spray foil with nonstick cooking spray.

2. In bowl of standing mixer, mix flour, oats, sugars, baking soda, salt, and nuts at low speed until combined, about 30 seconds. With mixer running at low speed, add butter pieces; continue to beat until mixture is well-blended and resembles wet sand, about 2 minutes [Being that I do not have a marvelous stand mixer, yet, I used a pastry cutter to slice the butter into "sandy" bits].

3. Transfer 2⁄3 of mixture to prepared pan and use hands to press crumbs evenly into bottom. Bake until starting to brown, about 20 minutes. Using rubber spatula, spread preserves evenly over hot bottom crust; sprinkle remaining oat/nut mixture evenly over preserves. Bake until preserves bubble around edges and top is golden brown, about 30 minutes, rotating pan from front to back halfway through baking time [This is one of those "it will not look done" type recipes, but I didn't suspect that until my bars were overbaked, about 30 minutes on the 2nd bake stage]. Cool on wire rack to room temperature, about 11⁄2 hours, then remove from pan using foil handles. Cut into 11⁄4- to 11⁄2-inch squares and serve.

Although my family enjoyed the bars, I was not pleased with their crunchiness. I was looking for a more crumbly texture, but did not achieve it. I can account this to not compensating for my glass baking dish. Damn! Oh, and the square's pictures look better than they actually taste.

Comments

[dani]

I was doing a Google searching on the word 'pretty', and your site came up. All I have to say is that that raspberry bar looks delicious and I am even more hungry now than I was before. I'm also new to typepad, and I really like what you've done with your site.