Raspberry Jam Bars
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Sweet, tart and gooey, these raspberry jam bars are a happy marriage of blondies and jam.
Sweet, tart, and gooey, these raspberry jam bars are a happy marriage of blondies and jam, and I love them just as much with my morning coffee as I do for dessert. The top and bottom layers are made from the same batter but they bake up differently; the bottom is soft and chewy while the top is light and crisp. Feel free to swap out the raspberry jam for your favorite flavor but avoid anything too sweet—tart-flavored jams like cherry, blackberry or raspberry work best. Also, keep in mind that these bars are quick to throw together but they do take a few hours to set up and cool before cutting.
“Great recipe! Super easy to make and a real crowd pleaser. A double batch was devoured by 8 adults.”
What You’ll Need To Make Raspberry Jam Bars
- Pecans: Add crisp and nutty flavor to the top of the bars.
- All-purpose flour: Provides structure and helps bind the ingredients.
- Unsweetened coconut flakes: Offer a hint of tropical flavor and nice texture contrast.
- Old-fashioned rolled oats: Contribute chewiness and heartiness to the bars.
- Baking powder: Helps the bars rise and achieve a light texture.
- Butter: Adds richness and moisture to the bars.
- Granulated sugar: Adds sweetness and aids in browning.
- Light brown sugar: Provides a very subtle caramel-like flavor and chewiness.
- Egg: Acts as a binder and adds moisture.
- Raspberry jam: Adds tart, fruity sweetness, and lovely color to the bars.
- Jump to the printable recipe for precise measurements
Step-by-Step Instructions
To begin: In the bowl of a food processor fitted with the steel blade, place the pecans, flour, coconut, oats, salt, and baking powder.
Blend until the mixture has a fine, sand-like texture and set aside.
In the bowl of an electric mixer, combine the butter with the granulated sugar and brown sugar.
Beat until light and creamy, a few minutes.
Add the egg.
Beat until well combined.
Add the flour mixture to the butter mixture.
Beat on low speed until just combined.
Place 2/3 of the dough over the bottom of the prepared baking dish, using an offset spatula to spread it into an even layer. (If you don’t have an offset spatula, lightly wet your fingers and press the dough into an even layer.)
Spread the jam over the surface of the dough, leaving ¼-inch space between the jam and the sides of the baking dish so the bars won’t stick quite so much to the foil.
Pinch off 1-inch clumps of the remaining dough and scatter evenly over top of the jam. The dough won’t cover the entire surface; that’s okay.
Bake for about 35 minutes, until the topping is golden brown.
Let the jam bars cool in the baking dish on a rack for about 15 minutes. Using the foil overhang, lift the bars out of the pan and onto the countertop. Pull the foil away from the sides to prevent sticking, and then let sit until completely cool, a few hours. Cut into 16 bars. Enjoy!
Frequently Asked Questions
Absolutely! Feel free to swap out the raspberry jam for your favorite flavor but avoid anything too sweet—tart jams like cherry, blackberry, or raspberry work best.
Yes, they can be made up to 2 days ahead and stored in a covered container at room temperature.
Yes, they freeze nicely for up to 2 months. Prior to freezing, let them cool completely and store in an airtight container, separating layers with parchment paper or aluminum foil. Before serving, remove the bars from the container and let them come to room temperature.
Yes, you can replace either of these ingredients with an equal amount of another ingredient that does not need to be avoided, such as the oats, nuts, or coconut.
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Raspberry Jam Bars
Sweet, tart and gooey, these raspberry jam bars are a happy marriage of blondies and jam.
Ingredients
- ½ cup pecans
- 1 cup all-purpose flour, spooned into measuring cup and leveled-off with a knife
- ½ cup unsweetened coconut flakes
- ¼ cup old-fashioned rolled oats
- Heaping ¼ teaspoon salt
- ¼ teaspoon baking powder
- 1 stick unsalted butter, softened
- ½ cup granulated sugar
- ¼ cup packed light brown sugar
- 1 large egg
- ½ cup raspberry jam
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350°F and adjust the oven rack to the middle position. Line an 8-inch square baking dish with heavy-duty aluminum foil so that it overlaps the sides and spray with nonstick cooking spray.
- In the bowl of a food processor fitted with the steel blade, place the pecans, flour, coconut, oats, salt, and baking powder. Blend until the mixture has a fine, sand-like texture. Set aside.
- In the bowl of an electric mixer, beat the butter with the granulated sugar and brown sugar on medium speed until light and creamy, a few minutes. Add the egg and beat until well combined. Add the flour mixture to the butter mixture and beat on low speed until just combined. The dough will be sticky. Place ⅔ of the dough on the bottom of the prepared baking dish, using an offset spatula to spread it into an even layer. (If you don’t have an offset spatula, lightly wet your fingers and press the dough into an even layer.) Spread the jam over the surface of the dough, leaving ¼-inch space between the jam and the sides of the baking dish so the bars won’t stick to the foil. Pinch off 1-inch clumps of the remaining dough and scatter evenly over top of the jam. The dough won’t cover the entire surface; that’s okay. Bake for about 35 minutes, until the topping is golden brown.
- Let the jam bars cool in the baking dish on a rack for about 15 minutes. Using the foil overhang, lift the bars out of the pan and onto the countertop. Pull the foil away from the sides to prevent sticking, and then let sit until completely cool, a few hours. Cut into 16 bars. Cover the bars with foil and store at room temperature for up to two days.
- Freezer-Friendly Instructions: These bars can be frozen for up to 2 months. Let them cool completely and store in an airtight container, separating layers with parchment paper or aluminum foil. Before serving, remove the bars from the container and let them come to room temperature.
Nutrition Information
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- Serving size: 1 bar
- Calories: 192
- Fat: 10 g
- Saturated fat: 5 g
- Carbohydrates: 24 g
- Sugar: 15 g
- Fiber: 1 g
- Protein: 2 g
- Sodium: 53 mg
- Cholesterol: 27 mg
This website is written and produced for informational purposes only. I am not a certified nutritionist and the nutritional data on this site has not been evaluated or approved by a nutritionist or the Food and Drug Administration. Nutritional information is offered as a courtesy and should not be construed as a guarantee. The data is calculated through an online nutritional calculator, Edamam.com. Although I do my best to provide accurate nutritional information, these figures should be considered estimates only. Varying factors such as product types or brands purchased, natural fluctuations in fresh produce, and the way ingredients are processed change the effective nutritional information in any given recipe. Furthermore, different online calculators provide different results depending on their own nutrition fact sources and algorithms. To obtain the most accurate nutritional information in a given recipe, you should calculate the nutritional information with the actual ingredients used in your recipe, using your preferred nutrition calculator.
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I think this may be my first recipe review ever. I felt I had to log on and thank you for this beautiful raspberry bar recipe, which is amazing – not too sweet, filling with ta cup of coffee or tea, and adjustable to whatever fruits are in the fridge. I used another favorite recipe, the New York Times’ “Any Fruit Jam” recipe for a mixed raspberry, blueberry and blackberry filing with some strawberry balsamic vinegar. https://cooking.nytimes.com/recipes/1014990-any-fruit-jam I will never use another berry bar recipe again. Yours is THAT EXCELLENT. I can’t wait to try it with other fruits/filling flavorings. I have also tried some other recipes on this site (LOVE your pecan squares too!) and finally decided to send in this review. I haven’t bought a new cookbook in years given the superabundance of free, home-cooked recipes online (I am a bit of a cheapwad) but I think it’s time for me to buy your books. Your recipes are reliably delicious, elegant, and make the home cook look like a professional. Thank you so much!! — Melanie
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So glad you liked the bars!
i just made these and it came out great!!! I used vegan butter and GF flour. Flax seed egg instead of real egg. Oats instead of pecans (my partner has some allergies). It was so beautiful and tasty. Best jam bars we’ve ever made! Can’t wait to try with other jams this summer.
Fabulous – especially when I used raspberry jam I made from raspberries grown in my garden. It is a recipe to make over and over!
Hi, Jenn! I make these often and always with rave reviews. One of the things that I and everyone loves about these is that they are not too sweet. I was thinking about making these substituting Dalmatia fig jam or Trader Joe’s Fig Butter (which is really jam, not butter, and more like a paste). I think then this jam bars would taste almost like high quality fig bars … but I am wondering if they would be too sweet with either of these substitutions?
Hi Jane, Glad these have been a hit! I think you can get away with using fig jam or fig butter. I do think the bars will be a little sweeter as the raspberry jam adds a bit of tang. Please LMK how they turn out if you try them this way!
It will be a while before I make them ago, but will let you know, and thanks!
Hi: I did make them this way and just left out a bit of the sugar and they were fine. Now I have a different question: is there a way to make these vegan? Oil instead of butter, etc.? Thanks.
Hi Jane, glad you enjoyed them. To make them vegan, you could swap the butter for (solidified) coconut oil. And two of the best substitutes I’ve heard about (I haven’t personally tried either of them) are a combination of water, oil, and baking powder, and carbonated water. Scroll down to the bottom of this article for more information about both. I would assume this would also work with some kind of store-bought egg substitute. Hope that helps (and I’d love to hear how they turn out if you try them with these alternatives)!
Thanks so much! Great advice and super good article. Much appreciated.
Just made these bars today using cherry preserves. Omitted coconut flakes 😝, added a full cup of pecans instead 😋. Taste awesome! During the year, always hunting down new recipes for my Xmas cookie platters. Def adding these! Will probably double the recipe for a 9×13 pan…hope that works. Thank you for this recipe 👌🏼
I Love your recipes Jenn! This sounds wonderful and want to bake but don’t have the coconut. Is there an ingredient that can be substituted?? Thanks!
Hi Debbie, You can replace the coconut with more nuts or oats. Hope that helps!
I made these using F.R.O.G. jam that a friend had gifted me from NC. It’s flavored with raspberries, orange peel and ginger. I doubled the amount called for and heated it in the microwave for 1.5 minutes to make it spreadable. I also skipped the foil part and just sprayed the baking dish and let them cool completely in the dish (I live in Alaska and my kitchen is typically fairly cool). These bars are the absolute bomb! The combination of flavors was spot on and I doubt they are going to last until the Superbowl party. I have never made a base like this for cookie bars and I am so glad I found this recipe, I’m going to enjoy experimenting with different fillings! Thanks for sharing!
I tried your recipe because I wanted a smaller version than the usual large pan I make. Tried cutting that recipe in half and it didn’t translate well. I do use wild fresh fruits (rhubarb, blueberries, cloudberries, raspberries and cranberries) in my bars and it’s always a treat to enjoy them in different ways. I cook the fruit on the stove with some sugar and water, simmer until the liquid has reduced by almost half and have had great success. Your bars were a big hit since I was able to gift a variety of flavors!
Oh my these were delicious! Hubby just announced they were a winner.
Easy to put together and not super sweet. Thanks Jen!
This is a keeper! I made this recipe to include in my cookie box for Christmas this year which I handed out to friends and family. And, it was one of the favorites. In fact, my mother-in-law asked me for the recipe. I personally loved the ease of putting this dish together for a super yummy outcome. The only modification I made was adding a little more coconut on top before baking along with a handful of white chocolate chips.