These Raspberry Bars are the perfect cookie for summer! A homemade raspberry jam is spread on an oatmeal cookie base and then topped with a crumble. As delicious as they are beautiful.
*This post is sponsored by SunButter, a sunflower seed spread perfect for allergy-safe baking and cooking! Thanks for supporting the brands that keep Sunkissed Kitchen running.
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The Best Raspberry Bars for Summer Desserts
Normally I am in the camp of, “if it doesn’t have chocolate, it’s not dessert.”
But these easy Raspberry Bars might be the thing to change my mind! The combination of the sweet-tart raspberry jam with the chewy oatmeal cookie base is truly a match made in heaven.
I adore this Raspberry Chia Jam recipe and am always looking for excuses to make it. I love having it on hand to add to yogurt bowls or to top smoothies. Combining it with my favorite Oatmeal Cookie Recipe was a very, very good idea.
These are not your typical oatmeal bars. The base and crumble topping is delicate and chewy, like the perfect oatmeal cookie should be. Oatmeal cookies with sweet raspberry jam, sign me up!
Combining SunButter and maple syrup is one of my favorite baking tricks. Together they make this caramelly-sauce that binds cookies and yields a brown sugar flavor.
If you love SunButter like I do, also try these Chocolate SunButter Bars, Healthy Oatmeal Raisin Cookies, and these Salted Caramel No Bake Cookies.
I use SunButter No Sugar Added in my baking so I can control the sweetness and type of sugar. I love that SunButter has a variety for every purpose!
Hop on over to SunButter’s website to see where it’s sold near you!
What You’ll Need
- Gluten Free Oats (Rolled oats give these a better texture than quick oats. I like this brand that is glyphosate free certified)
- Flax Meal (ground flax seeds)
- SunButter No Sugar Added
- Maple Syrup
- Coconut Oil
- Lemon Juice (a little lemon juice counteracts the reaction between baking soda and sunflower seeds. Omitting the lemon juice will cause the cookies to develop a harmless and tasteless green color.)
- Baking Soda
- Sea Salt
- Raspberry Chia Jam (or your favorite jar of raspberry jam)
Kitchen Tools:
- Square Baking Pan (9×9)
- Parchment Paper
- Pastry Roller
How to Make Raspberry Bars
Step 1: Preheat oven to 350º F. Line a 9×9 baking pan with parchment paper. I first rub the pan with a little coconut oil to help the parchment paper stick well.
Step 2: In a bowl, combine the maple syrup, SunButter, lemon juice, flax meal, sea salt and baking soda. Stir well to combine.
Step 3: Into the wet ingredients, add the dry ingredients (oats, oat flour, and coconut). Stir to fully combine.
Step 4: Set aside 3/4 cup of the oatmeal cookie mixture to use as a topping.
Step 5: Press the remaining oatmeal cookie mixture into the prepared baking pan to form a bottom crust. Use wet hands or a wet pastry roller to press the cookie dough into an even layer.
Step 6: Top the oatmeal cookie layer with the raspberry jam, spreading it in to an even layer of raspberry filling.
Step 7: Use a fork or wet fingers to break up the remaining cookie dough over the top of the raspberry jam into coarse crumbs.
Step 8: Bake the raspberry bars for 22-24 minutes until the edges and the oatmeal crumble topping are lightly golden brown. Allow the bars to cool to room temperature prior to slicing. For the cleanest cut bars, cover the baking pan with foil and refrigerate the bars overnight prior to slicing.
How to Store Oatmeal Raspberry Bars
Once the bars have fully cooled, and the bars have been sliced, store the bars in the refrigerator for up to 5 days, or packed in an airtight container in the freezer for up to 6 months.
Allow frozen raspberry cookies to defrost in the refrigerator overnight or on the counter for about 1 hour prior to serving.
Variations on Raspberry Crumble Bars
My bars turned green! Sunflower seed butter and baking soda turn a blueish green hue when combined. If this happens, do not worry, it won’t affect the taste of your bars at all! Lemon juice helps to mitigate this effect so remember to add the lemon juice to your oatmeal cookie mixture.
No SunButter? I love sunflower seed butter, but any nut butter works here! I would try almond butter or cashew butter as a sub if necessary.
Raspberry Bars with Fresh Raspberries: Fresh berries have more liquid than raspberry jam. To make these bars with fresh raspberries, mash 3 cups of berries and combine with 3 tablespoons of maple syrup or honey. Thicken the mixture with about 3 tablespoons of chia seeds and allow the seeds to absorb the excess moisture for about 20 minutes prior to spreading on the cookie layer. This can similarly be done with frozen raspberries once they have defrosted.
Chocolate Raspberry Bars: While this raspberry oatmeal bar recipe is perfection on it’s own, chocolate never hurts! Either add 1/2 cup of chocolate chips to the cookie mixture for chocolate chip raspberry bars, or drizzle chocolate on the tops of these bars after they have cooled.
Oatmeal Jam Bars: If you’ve like a fun variation or don’t have raspberry preserves, try your favorite jam in this recipe. Peach jam, strawberry chia jam, or this low sugar Apricot jam would all be awesome.
More Raspberry Recipes
- Chocolate Thumbprint Cookies
- Raspberry Chocolate Chip Oatmeal Cookie Bars
- Summer Raspberry Vinaigrette
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Oatmeal Crumble Raspberry Bars
Ingredients
- 1/2 cup SunButter No Sugar Added
- 1/2 cup maple syrup
- 6 tablespoons coconut oil
- 2 tablespoons flax seed meal *flax seeds ground in blender, okay to omit
- 1 teaspoon lemon juice *this prevents the sunflower seeds and the baking soda from having a chemical reaction that turns baked goods green.
- 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
- 1/4 teaspoon sea salt
- 1 1/2 cups oats
- 3/4 cup oat flour *oats ground in a blender into a flour
- 3/4 cup coconut unsweetened
- 1 1/2 cups Raspberry Chia Jam or your favorite jam
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350º F. Line a 9×9 baking pan with parchment paper. I first rub the pan with a little coconut oil to help the parchment paper stick well.
- In a bowl, combine the maple syrup, SunButter, lemon juice, flax meal, sea salt and baking soda. Stir well to combine.
- Into the wet ingredients, add the dry ingredients (oats, oat flour, and coconut). Stir to fully combine.
- Set aside 3/4 cup of the oatmeal cookie mixture to use as a topping.
- Press the remaining oatmeal cookie mixture into the prepared baking pan. Use wet hands or a wet pastry roller to press the cookie dough into an even layer.
- Top the oatmeal cookie layer with the raspberry jam, spreading it in to an even layer.
- Use a fork or wet fingers to break up the remaining cookie dough over the top of the raspberry jam into crumbles.
- Bake the raspberry bars for 22-24 minutes until the edges and the oatmeal crumble topping are lightly golden brown. Allow the bars to cool to room temperature prior to slicing. For the cleanest cut bars, cover the baking pan with foil and refrigerate the bars overnight prior to slicing.
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