Chocolate Raspberry Crumb Bars

It's cookie baking time, and, as I do every year, have started my holiday baking.  How long this burst of seasonal energy will last is anybody's guess, but I've been hard at it, preparing various holiday tidbits and packaging them for the freezer.  The hope of course is that, come late December, I'll be able to kick back and relax smugly knowing I have a freezer full of soups, casseroles, appetizers and desserts so I'll not have to cook a thing, and am well prepared for anything.  That's the hope, not the reality, but I digress.

Here is my first cookie of the season, an easy recipe of my own creation born of my love for the combination of chocolate and raspberry.

Chocolate Raspberry Crumb Bars

1 cup (2 sticks) butter, softened

2 cups all-purpose flour

1/2 cup packed light brown sugar

1/4 teaspoon salt

1 12 oz. package Nestles milk chocolate morsels, divided

1 14 oz. can sweetened condensed milk

1 12 oz. jar seedless raspberry jam

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.  Grease a 9" x 13" baking pan.

Beat butter in a large mixing bowl until creamy.  Add flour, sugar, and salt, and continue beating until combined (the mixture should be crumbly).  Measure out 2 cups of the mixture and press onto the bottom of the baking pan, covering completely (It helps to flour your hands).  Bake for 12-15 minutes or until the edges are golden brown.  Remove from oven and carefully spread half of the jar of raspberry preserves on top, spreading to cover.

Combine 1 cup of the milk chocolate morsels with the can of sweetened condensed milk in a small, heavy-duty saucepan.  Melt over low heat, stirring constantly until mixture is smooth.  Remove from heat and pour over the raspberry layer, carefully spreading to cover.

Sprinkle the reserved crumb mixture over the chocolate layer.  Drop remaining raspberry jam by teaspoonfuls over crumb mixture.  Sprinkle with remaining morsels.  Put pan back into the oven and continue baking for 25 to 30 minutes or until center is set.  Cool completely on wire rack.  When cool, use a sharp knife around the edge to loosen, and then cut into squares.

Makes 2-3 dozen bars depending upon the size cut.



Hot from the oven.



This post is linked to 12 Weeks of Cookies.