Oatmeal Raspberry Crumb Bars

Oatmeal Raspberry Crumb Bars

These Oatmeal Raspberry Crumb Bars are the perfect for BBQs, potlucks, parties, dessert nights, and everything in between.

When it comes to dessert, I have the hardest time choosing between something fruity or something chocolate-y. It is always a toss-up and I usually want both. I am sure most of you can relate! The other night, however, I was was distinctly craving FRUIT. I looked in my pantry and found a can on raspberry pie filling and some coconut and tried to come up with something fun and different. I found this recipe on the Betty Crocker website and made a few adjustments to my liking. They actually turned out way better than I was hoping and found myself stashing what was left in the cupboard, out of reach of tiny hands. I slowly picked at them over the next few days and was super disappointed when I picked off the last crumb. Now I need to go to the store and get more raspberry pie filling so I can make these again!

 have to say, they are really good when they are still warm from the oven.. but they are the BEST the next day after they have cooled down and they are nice and chewy. I am sure these would be great with cherry pie filling or some other kind of fruity filing but the raspberry was absolutely delicious and paired well with the coconut. Speaking of coconut… I actually didn’t toast my coconut (because I was super lazy and wanted instant gratification) but you can absolutely toast it and I am sure it would be wonderful. You can use the shredded coconut or the flaked, either way, you will love these. Oh, and you have GOT to try these raspberry crumb bars warmed up a little with a big scoop of vanilla ice cream… heaven.

OATMEAL RASPBERRY CRUMB BARS

ngredients

• 2 1/2 c. flour
• 2 1/2 c. quick cooking oats
• 1 1/2 c. brown sugar, packed
• 1/2 c. macadamia nuts, chopped (optional)


• 1/2 c. shredded coconut
• 1/4 tsp. salt
• 1/4 tsp. baking soda
• 1 1/2 c. butter, melted
• 1 (21 oz) can raspberry pie filling
• 1 tsp. cinnamon

Instructions

• Preheat oven to 350-degrees.
• In large bowl, mix flour, oats, brown sugar, macadamia nuts, coconut, salt and baking soda, using pastry blender. Stir in melted butter until well mixed.
• Reserve 2 cups oat mixture for topping.


• On bottom of ungreased 15x10x1-inch pan, firmly press remaining oat mixture.
• Bake 15-20 minutes or until crust just begins to brown.
• Using a rubber spatula, carefully spread pie filling over warm crust.
• Stir cinnamon into reserved oat mixture. Sprinkle oat mixture over filling; pressing lightly into filling.
• Bake 20-25 minutes or until top is golden brown. Cool completely in pan (30 minutes or so). Cut and serve.
• Makes appx 48 small (snack-size) bars (or 24 larger (dessert size) bars).

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