Tried & True Tuesday: Old World Raspberry Bars

. Spring, Texas.  Where's that you ask?  Truthfully, I can't tell you much besides it's in Texas (wow, really?!), right outside of Houston in some direction.  What's the relevance?  Well, that's where yours truly is currently blogging from.  Yes, Spring, Texas.

Since I'm out traveling [the world] for work, this Tried & True Tuesday demands more than ever a super simple, yet delicious, recipe.  I browsed through my assortment of already-tested goodies and came across a dessert I made for my best friends' baby shower a while back.  It was the first time I had ever made these (shocker!) but they were a complete hit at the party!  These little bites of heaven are basically mini slices of pie.  I'm an avid pie lover, so these bars hit me.  Right.  There -> hand over heart, eyes rolled back.

Oh, hello, it might be nice to tell you what I'm talking about!  Old World Raspberry Bars, a recipe I found on-line actually while I was browsing some of my favorite baking sites (another shocker, I lose hours of my life to this activity.  I'm sure most of you can relate!).  But anywho, these bars are amazingly quick and easy but pack a punch with a buttery crust, sweet fruity filling and a crumb topping made with the same ingredients as the crust.  It's a one bowl deal-io!

This recipe, quite honestly, gives you no reason to not try out this treat ASAP.  Odds are you have all of these ingredients in your cupboard/refrigerator right at this very moment.  So stop reading this blog and get bakin'!

P.S. - This will be my last post for the next few days seeing as I'm out of town.  Hotel rooms don't exactly welcome baking adventures, so I guess that'll have to wait until I reach back down in Omaha.  However, this gives you time to think of any recipes you'd like to see.  Leave a comment under any of the posts letting me know what you're interested in and you can bet the recipe will make it up here oh...yesterday (which also means very quickly).  Until next time! .

Old World Raspberry Bars

Please excuse the beyond terrible picture, this was before I actually cared how my pictures turned out.   I did my best to make it a little better ☺

Ingredients:

2-1/4 c. all purpose flour

1 c. sugar

1 c. pecans, chopped

1 c. butter, softened

1 egg

3/4 c. raspberry preserves

Directions:

1. Heat oven to 350°F.  Combine flour, sugar, pecans, butter, and egg in large bowl.  Beat at low speed until mixture resembles coarse crumbs.  Reserve 2 cups crumb mixture; set aside.
2. Press remaining crumb mixture on bottom of greased 8-inch square pan.  Spread preserves to within 1/4-inch of edge.  Crumble reserved crumb mixture over preserves.
3. Bake 40 to 50 minutes or until lightly browned.  Cool completely before cutting into bars.

Yield: 25 bars

*My Notes:

• I've made these bars with blueberry and strawberry preserves but you can use any type of fruit preserves you'd like.  Versatility is the [wo]man!