Raspberry Shortbread Bars

by Sabrina Snyder

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5 from 1 vote
16 Servings
Prep Time 10 minutes
Cook Time 35 minutes
Total Time 45 minutes
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Raspberry Shortbread Bars are a classic dessert made with a buttery, crumbly base and a sweet-tart topping. Perfect for everyday baking!

This easy Bar Recipe takes a basic Shortbread Cookie base and adds a layer of delicious raspberry jam. The simple spread adds a refreshing, sweet flavor to the delicate shortbread bars without much extra work. Try White Chocolate Raspberry Shortbread Bars!

Sabrina’s Raspberry Shortbread Bars Recipe

This lovely shortbread recipe is the perfect dessert for any occasion. It’s made with simple ingredients you probably already have and is ready for the oven in minutes. But, these fruity dessert bars are still some of the tastiest treats ever! Bring the simple raspberry bars to your next cookie exchange party, baby shower, or just bake them for you and your family to enjoy after dinner. 

Recipe Card

Dinner, then Dessert

Raspberry Shortbread Bars Recipe

Raspberry Shortbread Bars are a classic dessert made with a buttery, crumbly base and a sweet-tart topping. Perfect for everyday baking!
Yield 16 Servings
Prep Time 10 minutes
Cook Time 35 minutes
Total Time 45 minutes
Course Dessert
Cuisine American
Author Sabrina Snyder
slices of berry butter cookies stacked on one another
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Ingredients
 

  • 1 cup unsalted butter , softened
  • 1 cup sugar
  • 2 large egg yolks
  • 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
  • 2 cups all-purpose flour
  • 1 teaspoon baking powder
  • 1/4 teaspoon salt
  • 1 1/2 cups raspberry jam

Instructions

  • Preheat oven to 350 degrees and spray an 8×10 baking dish with baking spray.
  • Add the butter, sugar, and beat the mixture together in your stand mixer on medium speed until fluffy, about 2-3 minutes.
  • Add in egg yolks and vanilla extract until creamy.
  • Add flour, baking powder, and salt until just combined.
  • Spread about half the mixture into the baking dish and press gently.
  • Spread raspberry jam over the shortbread base.
  • Sprinkle the remaining shortbread mixture over the raspberry jam.
  • Bake for 35-40 minutes or until golden brown.
  • Cool completely before slicing.

Nutrition

Calories: 303kcal | Carbohydrates: 47g | Protein: 2g | Fat: 12g | Saturated Fat: 8g | Trans Fat: 1g | Cholesterol: 54mg | Sodium: 50mg | Potassium: 73mg | Fiber: 1g | Sugar: 28g | Vitamin A: 385IU | Vitamin C: 3mg | Calcium: 26mg | Iron: 1mg

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About this Recipe

To make the fresh raspberry filling, you only need a jar of raspberry jam. You can pick up your favorite from the grocery store, or make your own. If you like the idea of making jam from scratch, you can follow our recipe for Strawberry Jam, but substitute raspberries for the strawberries.

Chef’s Note: Making Your Own Jam

The great thing about learning to make your own jam is that you can easily store it and use it for a variety of foods. It’s great for fruity dessert bars like this, but you can also spread it over toast or a flaky pastry for a breakfast treat. You could bring the fruit spread to a brunch or tea party for spreading over biscuits. Or, take inspiration from this sweet treat, and add it to other simple dessert recipes like Sugar Cookies.

Baking Tips & Tricks

  • Prep time: Start by preheating the oven and prepping your baking dish with nonstick spray. If you don’t have spray, you can lightly grease the pan with butter or line the dish with parchment paper to stop the bars from sticking. 
  • Dough: Add the softened butter and granulated sugar to your stand mixer. Cream the ingredients together for 2-3 minutes until light and fluffy. Next, add in the egg yolks and vanilla extract. Mix at medium speed until it’s all one creamy mixture. Then sift in your dry ingredients. Mix at low speed until the dough is just combined. Be careful not to overmix, or the shortbread will turn out dense. 
  • Assemble: Divide the shortbread dough in half. Spread one half into the base of the prepared baking dish. Use your hands to gently press the layer of dough into an even surface. Spread the layer of jam over the top. Then sprinkle the remaining shortbread dough on top. 
  • Baking time: Pop the dish in the oven for 35-40 minutes until the fruit mixture is bubbly and the shortbread is a light golden-brown color. Let the bars cool completely so that the jam can set before slicing into squares. 

How to Store

  • Serve: Bars can stay good at room temperature for up to 4 days. Just cover the dish in plastic wrap or foil to keep the sweet treat from going stale. 
  • Store: To keep the bars longer, store them in a sealed container in the refrigerator for up to 1 week. 
  • Freeze: You can also transfer the chilled bars to a freezer bag or another airtight container to store in your freezer for 3 months. To make sure the squares don’t freeze together, separate the layers with parchment paper. Let them thaw in the fridge before reheating or eating them chilled. 

Variations

  • Jam: One of the great things about this recipe is that you can completely change it by using different kinds of fruit preserves. Try out other kinds of berries like strawberries, blueberries, or blackberries. You could also use peach, apricot, or apple jam. 
  • Lemon glaze: There are lots of easy toppings you could try adding to these bars for some extra sweetness. One option is a lemon glaze recipe. To make it, just whisk together 2 cups pof owdered sugar with 3-4 tablespoons of fresh lemon juice. Drizzle the mixture over the bars, and let it set before serving. 
  • Delicious vanilla glaze: Another option to try is a delicious vanilla glaze. To make it, combine 1 teaspoon melted butter with 1 ½ cups powdered sugar, 3 teaspoons milk, 1 pinch salt, and ¼ teaspoon vanilla extract. 
  • White chocolate topping: For an easy white chocolate topping, add ½ cup white chocolate chips to a saucepan with ¼ cup milk. Stir over low heat until the white chocolate chips are melted. Then remove from the heat and stir in 2 tablespoons of powdered sugar until it’s combined with the white chocolate chips mixture. Pour over the bar recipe after baking and let cool. 

More Tasty Shortbread

Raspberry Shortbread Bars collage

These photos were in a previous version of this post

cookie butter Bars on serving plate with fruit
cookie butter in pan after baking
collage of cookie butter bars with berries
cookie butter desserts stack on serving plate

About the Author: Sabrina Snyder

Sabrina is a professionally trained Private Chef of over 10 years with ServSafe Manager certification in food safety. She creates all the recipes here on Dinner, then Dessert, fueled in no small part by her love for bacon.

Sabrina Snyder is a professionally trained personal and private chef of over 10 years who is the creator and developer of all the recipes on Dinner, then Dessert.

She is also the author of the cookbook Dinner, then Dessert – Satisfying Meals Using Only 3, 5 or 7 Ingredients, published by Harper Collins.

She started Dinner, then Dessert as a business in her office as a lunch service for her coworkers who admired her lunches before going to culinary school and becoming a full time personal chef and private chef.

As a personal chef Sabrina would cook for families one day a week and cook their entire week of dinners. All grocery shopping, cooking and cleaning was done along with instructions on reheating. As a private chef she cooked for private parties and cooked in family homes in the evenings for families on a nightly basis after working as a personal chef during the day.

Sabrina has been certified as a ServSafe Manager since 2007 and was a longstanding member of the USPCA Personal Chef Association including being on the board of the Washington DC Chapter of Chefs in the US Personal Chef Association when they won Chapter of the year.

As a member of the community of food website creators Sabrina Snyder has spoken at many conferences regarding her experiences as a food writer including the Indulge Food Conference, Everything Food Conference, Haven Food Conference and IACP Annual Food Professionals Conference.

Sabrina lives with her family in sunny California.

See more posts by Sabrina

Dinner, then Dessert, Inc. owns the copyright on all images and text and does not allow for its original recipes and pictures to be reproduced anywhere other than at this site unless authorization is given. Read my disclosure and copyright policy. This post may contain affiliate links.

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Comments

  2. Hi Sabrina!

    These bars look fantastic! I want to try them. At the moment I don’t have the pan size in the recipe description, but I do have the delicious ingredients to make these.
    I’m curious about halving the recipe. I have a casserole dish that’s 8×5. Would you consider this pan to be the best choice if I do halve the recipe?
    My family and I really want to try these, and if it means I make a small batch until I can get the correct pan size…we’ll be very happy! Please let me know if I’m on the right track. lol…
    Thank-you so much! 🙂

    Reply

  5. The recipe calls for cream added to the stand mixer, but the ingredients list doesn’t have cream on it. Is this a mistake?

    Reply