Happy Monday!
I am posting twice and early this week because I have had so many requests for the Raspberry Bar recipe that I talked about on the Bill Leff & Wendy Snyder WGN Radio show recently. Thank you all for listening to my story and for reaching out to me! It’s so fun to hear from you and I love that all of you have an interest in good recipes too. And of course, thank you to Bill & Wendy for even having an interest and allowing me to talk on their show.
Ok, with that said, I like to tell you where, why or how, I found each of these recipes that I post, because I like to give credit to those that have shared them with me in the first place. So, here is the story & history behind the Raspberry Bars, and more importantly, the original recipe! Here goes…….
Seven years ago, my first season baking for the Bears, I worked with a great guy by the name of Mike Lloyd. Mike used to bring in cookies, caramel brownies and “Spitzbübens” that his mother would bake and send for all of us to enjoy at the office. The Raspberry Spitzbübens were by far, something I found to taste exceptional and unlike anything else I had ever had. When I accepted the challenge of baking for the Bears, I literally had no idea what I was doing as far as baking went, and had NO recipes that I loved and couldn’t wait to send. BUT, Mike and his mom, being the good and kind people that they are, did not hesitate to share all of the recipes of the treats that had been sent to the office. Not only did Mrs. Lloyd send Mike copies & instructions of everything for me, she told Mike to tell me to call her if I had any questions. How kind! So, here it is, Mrs. Lloyd’s Spitzbübens, or, otherwise known as “Raspberry Bars” recipe! I’m even including a picture of her handwritten copy to me for proof that it’s the real deal 😉 You are going to love this… Only 4 ingredients, plus your favorite jelly, jam or preserves. Mike said his favorite has always been raspberry, and so that is what I have stuck with!
Spitzbüben (Raspberry Shortbread)
2 cups butter
2 cups sugar
4 egg yolks
4 cups flour
1 1/2 cups raspberry preserves
Instructions:
- Preheat oven to 325 degrees
- Beat butter & sugar until light and fluffy.
- Blend in egg yolks.
- Gradually stir in flour until well mixed and dough forms. Cut dough in 2 equal halves.
- In a 10″x15″ jelly roll pan spread half of the dough evenly.
- Spread the preserves over the dough
- Then put the other 1/2 of the dough on top of the jelly preserves. (Mrs. Lloyd drops the dough by spoonfuls)
- Bake at 325 degrees for up to one hour or until light brown (Check after 40 minutes – my oven bakes these in full at about 45 minutes, so keep an eye on them)
- Cool completely and sprinkle with powdered sugar before cutting into bars
I didn’t modify this recipe one bit, so here are the only few tips I would add for you when you make these bars:
- I always use salted butter, no matter what – this original recipe doesn’t indicate either, but since I don’t believe in unsalted, it’s a no-brainer
- I ALWAYS use Smucker’s seedless Red Raspberry Jam for these bars. I have tried blueberry, and tried other name brands, but find that Smucker’s is the best. Just my opinion. I think a friend of mine even made this shortbread recipe but with Nutella instead of any kind of jam. The point is, this shortbread is what really stands out and above the rest! I think anything will go well with it.
- When I put the top layer of dough on the bars, I take little chunks and flatten them out between the palms of my hands and then lay them strategically on top of the preserves… fitting the dough together like a jig-saw puzzle so as not to leave too much raspberry showing. I never saw Mrs. Lloyd make this recipe, but her bars never seemed to have any open jam showing, so in my mind I thought I should cover the entire sheet as best I could, to make them just like Mrs. Lloyd’s – and I find that flattening out with your hands is a good way to achieve this. The bars will be on the thinner side
- I also try to seal the dough well to the edges of my jelly roll pan, because during baking, the jam tends ooze out a bit, and in the past has caused my fire alarm to go off when it starts to burn off the bottom of the oven. You might also want to put some foil on the bottom of your oven floor, just in case, to catch any jam that might ooze out.
That, my friends, is it! I hope those of you that try this recipe will enjoy it just as much as everyone that I’ve made them for does! Please feel free to reach out to me with any questions or comments.
Thank you so much for reading my blog!
And GO BEARS!
Baking for the Bears 
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