Raspberry Crumble Bars
A shortbread-like cookie base + Raspberry Lemon filling + Crumble = an out of this world Gluten-Free, Vegan treat! Perfectly balanced and a total crowd pleaser! Recipe adapted from America's Test Kitchen.
Servings: 16 bars
Ingredients
Cookie base (you will reserve 1/3 cup of the base dough for the topping)
- 1 1/2 cups gluten-free flour with xanthan gum (we used GF Jules, affiliate link)
- 1/3 cup cane sugar
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 8 tablespoons dairy free butter or real butter, softened, cut into tablespoons (we used Earth Balance dairy-free, soy-free sticks) (NOTE: for a more buttery flavor, use 9 tablespoons of butter)
Crumble*
- 2 tablespoons packed brown sugar
- 1/3 cup pecans finely chopped
- 1/4 cup gluten free old fashioned rolled oats
- *plus 1/3 reserved cup of the cookie base dough
Raspberry filling
- 3/4 cup raspberry preserves
- 3/4 cup fresh raspberries
- 2 1/4 teaspoons fresh lemon juice
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 375 degrees F
- Line 8 inch square baking pan with parchment paper such that the paper hangs over the edges OR is tucked in in such a way that you can lift the paper right out of the pan when the bars are done.
Make the cookie base
- Using a stand mixer or hand mixer, add flour, cane sugar and salt to a large mixing bowl and on low speed combine for about 5 seconds.
- Add butter, 1 piece at a time and continue mixing until a dough forms and pulls away from the sides of the bowl, about 2-3 minutes.
- Measure and set aside 1/3 cup of the dough, which will be used in the crumble.
- Using your hands, press the remaining dough into an even layer in the prepared baking pan.
- Bake 14-16 minutes or until edges begin to brown, rotating pan halfway though baking.
Raspberry Lemon Filling
- While the base bakes, combine preserves, raspberries and lemon juice in a small bowl and mash with a fork until well combined but some berry pieces remain.
Crumble Topping
- While the base bakes, add the reserved dough, brown sugar, pecans and oats into the mixing bowl used for the base. Using a mixer, pastry cutter or your hands, mix until combined and "crumbly". Set aside.
Assemble
- Pour Raspberry filling over the hot cookie base and spread evenly. Sprinkle with crumble topping pinching crumble with fingers to create tiny crumble "clumps". Do not press crumble into the filling.
- Bake 22-25 minutes or until filling bubbling and crumble topping golden brown.
- Let bars cool completely in the pan.
- When cooled completely, lift the the parchment paper out of the baking pan and onto a cutting board. Cut into square and enjoy!
- Store in the refrigerator for several days
Tried this recipe?Mention @HealthyGFFamily or tag #HealthyGFFamily!
These look amazing! do you k if I could use Almond flour & Coconut Sugar?
Thank you
Hi Michelle! Thank you! They are definitely my new favorite treat! I think coconut sugar would be ok in place of cane sugar but the almond flour will make the base a different texture– more dense, less shortbread like… if you try it, let me know!
I made this for Super Bowl and it was a HUGE hit. I lightended it up by replacing 1/2 the butter with 4tbsp unsweetened applesauce, 1/4 cup of the sugar with stevia and the jam with Smuckers sugar free raspberry preserves. Also, we didn’t have any pecans so I subbed in 1/3 cup almond flour. It was so good!!! I do Weight Watchers and with my modifications, the recipe came to 4sp per bar.
So happy you loved them Kayte! Thanks so much for sharing your adaptations!
These are so wonderful! So easy and so delicious! I made them for a friend (made them GF so I could have some too) and I knew if I told her they were Gluten Free she probably wouldn’t have eaten them! She raved about them and made a point to call me the next day and say how much she enjoyed them! Thank you for this awesome recipe!
Thanks Cynthia! I am so happy you loved them and even happier your “gluten-free skeptical” friend loved them! We have found them to be a real hit with everyone here too! Thanks for sharing!
I don’t usually bake GF but needed to when taking food to a friend who had surgery, as her husband is gluten intolerant. These were terrific! I loved the combo of fresh fruit and jam—so easy but better than just jam. I used strawberry jam and raspberries, because that jam was open. Thanks for a reliable GF recipe! (I also made your corn bread—delicious! Will add comment there as well.)
Thank you so much! So nice of you to bake for your friend and you chose one of my favorite recipes too! Happy you loved it!
I made these bars for Easter! My father and I are the only true gluten free ones and everyone couldn’t stop talking about them! They are so good. I will probably be making them for so many parties now!
Yay! So happy everyone loved them! They have been a hit here too and have become one of the recipes I am most often asked to bring for dessert! Thanks for sharing!
Made these for my Easter dessert for my family and nobody knew they were gluten free but were highly praised!! Soo delicious if you love a good raspberry crumb bar.
These are so good! I made this with blackberries as well and they were great too! I may use a little less blackberries next time but still so so good. Highly recommend this recipe!
Great idea! Love blackberries! I’m going to try this too!
Wow these are amazing!! Super easy to make and I like that the crumble has part of the crust in it because it’s less work. I used a hand mixer and added 3 extra tbsp of butter to my crust because it didn’t seem “dough-y” enough but it turned out great! Can’t wait to bring these for Christmas!
So happy you love them as much as we do! They are a perfect dessert for Christmas! Enjoy!
Would love to try these raspberry bars, but can I use a sugar substitute? Or eliminate it, and use dates? I am not good at tweaking.. thank you
Hi there!
Does anyone have the macros for this?
Thank you!
Great question! I’m sorry but I don’t count macros… maybe someone else does?
These bars are my favorite! In order for the cookie base to come together, I had to add an extra tablespoon of butter. The sweetness of the raspberry filing balances out with the cookie base. I look forward to savoring a piece of these bars and with a cup of coffee! Thanks for the recipe.
So happy you love them! Next time, run the mixer longer than you think you should (it seems like a while) and the shortbread should come together without the extra tablespoon but glad it worked out! Thank you!
Oh my these bars were everything! I tested out this recipe and it was so easy to follow! (I also watched along to the IG videos)
It came out of the oven smelling so good that leaving it to cool was almost impossible!
We couldn’t get enough of these bars. We had them as an afternoon treat and then heated them up in the oven after dinner and served them with a scoop if ice cream on top for dessert.
Amazing! Thank you so much for the recipe!
Thank you!! So happy you love them as much as we do! And so happy the video was helpful!
These look amazing!!! I am going to make these, however, I wanted to know if I could leave out the pecans? I have a child with nut allergies.
Great question! Yes, but I would add in an additional 1/4 cup oats in their place. Let me know if you make them 🙂
I made them without the pecans for the same reason. They were delicious anyway!!
can you use oat flour? I don’t have the gluten-free flour. Thanks!
I haven’t tried it with this recipe but should work!
LOVE these bars! I whipped these up to serve with a store bought rhubarb crisp and everyone loved these- even preferred them! Love how simple they are to make. I’ll definitely be making them again soon!
Aw, you just made my day! Happy everyone loved them! They are a favorite of all my friends and family too!
These are delicious! I used walnuts instead of pecans because it’s all I had on hand. Still came out amazing!
So happy you loved them and that they worked well with walnuts! Thanks for sharing!
I made these and substituted blueberries and blueberry jam and they were delicious! I love all of your recipes!!
Thank you so much! Happy you loved it with the blueberries!
If I’m using gluten free flour without xanthum powder how much xanthum powder should I add?
Great question! 1/8 – 1/4 teaspoon is all you need!
Hi, my daughter is allergic to oats,what can I substitute for it?
Hi. I’ve never made them without the oats… maybe try it with additional pecans in their place? Let me know how it turns out if you make them.
Could I use coconut butter instead o regular butter?
I’ve never baked with coconut butter so I’m not familiar with its properties… sorry! Coconut Oil won’t work.
This is a great recipe, I would recommend adding a little less sugar in the base if you are using preserves with sugar as it can a little overwhelming with sweetness! Other than great recipe, delish food!
Thank you! And great tip — the raspberry preserves I use isn’t very sweet so good to know …
What can I use instead of oats? I have a food intolerance to oats.
Since it’s only 1/4 cup, you could probably just substitute extra pecans and it would work!
Making this for the second time today. So delicious, I love it! I also tried ground up almonds in the crumble and it was great too.
Thanks for an awesome, and easy to make recipe!
These were so good! They were really easy to make and they tasted great ? would totally recommend these for anyone who needs to be gluten/dairy free. I’ve made them twice and both times my whole family loved them a lot.
Thank you! So happy you love them as much as we do!
I was looking for a recipe to use up raspberries that looked as if they weren’t going to last another day. When I found this gluten free recipe, i hesitated because I didn’t have gluten free flour as it’s not a staple in my larder. I thought I’d try it anyway, but using regular flour. It was spectacular and was scoffed within hours of it cooling down. The hardest part was waiting for it to cool. Great recipe. I’ll be making this again. Thankyou!
Thank you!! SO happy you love it so much!
Thank you for this recipe! Do you think we could freeze these?
Happy you love it! Thank you! And great question! I freeze everything but I’ve never frozen these — they stay well in the refrigerator for quite a long time and we generally eat them by then! It’s worth trying to freeze one maybe and seeing how it does…. then you can freeze more if it works!
Hi,
I’m wondering about an oil sub for the butter. My son is allergic to dairy, soy and seed oils like sunflower and safflower, which Earth Balance uses. We use rice bran oil. Would this work? I see someone subbed applesauce for some of the butter.
Thanks!
WOW!! These are absolutely divine, I substituted the cane sugar for Coconut sugar, used Coconut Oil for my dairy free butter and I used raw peanuts instead of walnuts . I did not expect these to be so tasty and stick together so well! I will be making these again as my partner (eats dairy & gluten) loved them as much as I did! Thank you for this beautiful recipe!
Happy you both loved them! And thank you for sharing all your substitutions!
Any advice on how to adjust recipe to remove pecans? My son would love these but also has a nut allergy. TIA
Yes, substitute extra gluten-free oats in place of the pecans… enjoy!
Hi! My son is allergic to pecans. Is there a no nuts substitute I can use for the crumble part?
Sorry… I saw you already responded to the nut free option question. Thanks anyways.
Happy you found the answer! Enjoy!
Brilliant, thank you! Instead of raspberry, I filled them with feijoa curd . . . and it might be the best thing I’ve ever made.
Aw, happy you love it! I’ve never tried feijoa but it sounds yummy!
Can I freeze these.
Great question! I haven’t frozen them but they should freeze fine.
Loved these cookie bars. Everyone really likes them and no one would guess they are gluten free. Some things have an odd gf flavor which I try to avoid. I use an extra tablespoon butter (df) , and did make them without fresh berries just jam once, still good but better with the fresh if available.
Can you freeze these to eat later?
I haven’t tried but it should work!
Do you have a substitute for the lemon juice? My daughter is allergic to any tree fruit or juice.
You could make it without the lemon juice and it will still taste yummy, maybe a touch sweeter. Enjoy
Amazing and easy to make! Looking forward to trying all the other desserts!
Thank you!! Happy you loved them! Let me know what you try next!