Raspberry Bars with an attitude...

As I was planning out this week's menu Saturday night, I gave Jeff the option to shuffle through some sweet recipe stacks and see if any of the them sounded good to make for the Weekly Wednesday Treat Day. I asked for one, but he came back with eight and said "Too overwhelming... here are some I randomly grabbed and I'll let you choose!". Welcome to my world - hee hee!

He did pick out some wonderful sounding treats and I ultimately pinned down these Raspberry Jam Bars with Macaroon Topping to make. Why these? Everything else I would have had to buy one or two things... but with this recipe, I had everything in the pantry. The jam? No problem... always have that. Lemon zest? Yup, always got a stash of at least 4 or 5 lemons worth in the freezer. Graham crackers? Check! Doesn't everyone dip theirs in Nutella or fluff and peanut butter for a snack?

On the bottom of these bars, you'll find a crumbly base made from ground graham crackers (honey this time - cinnamon would be groovy too), flour, granulated sugar, chunky bits of butter, bright lemon zest and a couple eggs to bind. The best part of this? All the work is done in the bowl of a food processor! When you combine this, it shouldn't be dough like - it should look more like damp sand. When you press it into the baking sheet, if it happens to be on the stickier side and you find yourself pulling it up, lay a sheet of plastic wrap over the top or wet your fingertips lightly to help you along. Once you've gotten that done, a thin layer of raspberry jam is worked over the top.

Base and jam layers done... just one final piece! To create the coconutty topping, butter and sugar are creamed together until they are light and fluffy. I added salt here since I used unsalted butter, but if you do opt to use salted, delete that out. Eggs are added, followed by a heavy bag of sweetened shredded coconut. Dollops of the macaroon mixture are dropped all over the top - try and cover the jam as best as you can, but don't strive for perfection. Let it be a little ragged and homey. Bake the bars until the top is set and the strips of coconut begin to take on an attractive golden tone.

Allow the pan to cool completely first, then set the bars into the refrigerator to chill down before you attempt to cut these. This will help firm them up and aid in getting cleaner slices. These can be on the richer side for some, so you could cut the bars into smaller, bite-sized pieces to stretch out the servings. We went with a slightly larger slabs though, so you could fully experience this fun treat and save a few bites for later if you wish!

I liked how the crust, with a light lemony zing, was firm enough that you could pick up the bars to eat them if you didn't want to dig out a fork and plate. The topping was sweet, slightly chewy and dense with coconut - a brilliant match with the sticky berry layer underneath. If you want to go take this over the top, drizzle to your hearts content with melted bittersweet chocolate for a decadent, showy finish.

Recipes
Raspberry Jam Bars with Macaroon Topping