Thursday, January 2, 2014

Red Raspberry and White Chocolate Crumb Bars

I was looking for a recipe that used raspberries for the holidays, aside from my favorite thumbprint cookies and I happened upon a gem from the Hershey's cookbook I picked up on the bargain table of Barnes and Noble a few years back.  I made a couple of tweaks to fit what ingredients I happened to have on hand and this turned out amazingly well!

2 2/3 C. flour ($.25)
1 C. sugar ($.10)
1/2 C. chopped hazelnuts ($.15)
1/2 tsp. nutmeg ($.05)
1 egg, slightly beaten ($.10)
2 stick butter, slightly chilled ($1)
1 1/8 C. raspberry jam or sauce ($.40)
1 C. white chocolate chips ($.50)

Heat oven to 350.
Grease a 13x9" baking dish.

Stir together flour, sugar, nutmeg, and hazelnuts.  Stir in egg - mixture should be very crumbly.  Slowly work in the butter, mixture should resemble coarse crumbs.

Reserve 1 1/2 C. of the crumb mixture.  Spread the rest of the crumbs into the bottom of the prepared baking dish.  Spread evenly with raspberry jam or sauce.  Top with white chocolate chips and reserved crumb mixture.

Bake for 40-45 minutes or until the top of the bars is lightly browned.  Cool completely and cut into small bars.

Yields: 36
Cost: $2.55
Cost per bar: $.07