Raspberry Pie Bars



I give you Raspberry Pie Bars. I have to admit, I did not come up with this recipe on my own. The original recipe was called Blueberry Pie Bars, and they were a-maz-ing! I tweaked the recipe a bit to make it easier for me and just because I thought they were better this way. This time around I wanted to try a fruit other than blueberries since I already knew those rocked. I chose raspberries because I thought they would work much in the same way as the blueberries, but would make the bars a bit sweeter. So, keep in mind that if you don't like raspberries but you do like blueberries, just swap the two ingredients. These bars are so good! The raspberries add a tartness that the blueberries didn't. I would also like to try this recipe with cherries and peaches, but I'll save that for another day :)

Ingredients:

Crust:

1 1/2 cups all purpose flour

3/4 cup sugar

1/8 tsp salt

3/4 cup butter (softened)

Filling:

2 large eggs

1 cup sugar

1/2 cup sour cream (can be lite)

1/2 cup all purpose flour

1/2 tsp almond extract

12 oz frozen raspberries

Directions:

*Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease an 8x8 pan with cooking spray and set aside.

*For the crust, add flour, sugar, and salt to mixing bowl and mix together briefly.

*Cut butter into tablespoons and add to mixer. If butter is chilled, after cutting, microwave for 15 seconds to soften. Mix together until butter is cut down and incorporated well with the flour mixture, about a minute. Crust should be crumbly.

*Set 1 1/2 cups of the crust mixture aside for the topping. Press the remainder into the bottom of the greased 8x8 pan.

*For the filling, whisk the eggs using mixer and whisk attachment.

*Add sugar, sour cream, flour, and almond extract.

*Remove bowl from mixer and gently fold in raspberries.

*Pour filling over crust, then sprinkle reserved crust evenly over the top of the filling.

*Bake between 1 hour-1 hour 15 minutes. Allow them to cool for about an hour so they can fully set up before digging in.

Cooking times may vary depending on your oven. You may want to start checking them after 45 minutes or so just to get a feel for where they are at. When the bars are golden brown and no longer jiggle in the middle, they are done.