raspberry crumble bars

My favorite part of any muffin, or strudel, or pie is always the crumbly topping. Always. Crust is always my favorite. So when I saw this recipe, I thought... oh! It's basically like a dream come true. All the yumminess of a pie, but extra crust. Who could ask for anything more?

So just like any other crust, this starts with flour, sugar, baking soda and salt. That's it!

To make the crumb nice and tasty and perfect, you'll want to cut in a stick of COLD butter and one egg.

You can use a fork, your fingers, a pastry cutter... anything you've got to cut the butter into the flour. You don't need a fine crumble, just enough to make sure most of the flour is incorporated.

You'll want to pour half the crumble into your greased pan and press it around with your fingers in one even layer.

Yes. Just like that. Now it's time to make the fruit spread.

To make my life immensely easier, I use raspberry jam. I always seem to have jams and jellies in my cabinet that I rarely use, so this was a great opportunity to use some up.

To make the fruit easier to spread, I warmed it in a small saucepan with some cornstarch, lime juice, lime zest and the tiniest bit of salt.

Once the jam is nice and loosey-goosey and will spread around the pan easier, pour it all over the crumble.

You'll just want to wiggle a large spoon back and forth to spread the jam- if you try to push it around, it'll bring up some of the crumble.

Sprinkle the rest of the crumbs on top of the jam and pop into the oven. This will cook for about 35-40 minutes.

Ooh, la la! Here's a big tip! LET THIS COOL COMPLETELY BEFORE CUTTING. You will have a big mess of jam on your hands. And on your counter. And on your floor. And everywhere else. I just pop mine into the fridge for a few hours and then... voila! What a yummy breakfast!

Raspberry Crumble Bars
Adapted from the good people at Smitten Kitchen!
1 1/2 cup flour
1/2 cup sugar
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/8 teaspoon salt
1 stick cold salted butter, cubed
1 egg
1 cup seedless raspberry jam
Juice and zest from 1/2 a lime
Pinch of salt

Preheat oven to 325 degrees. In a large bowl, mix together flour, sugar, baking powder and salt. Drop in egg and cubed butter, then using a pastry cutter or fork, cut in butter until coarse crumbles form. Spray an 8x8 baking pan with cooking spray, and pour in 1/2 of the crumbs. Press the crumbs into the bottom of the pan. In a small saucepan, warm together the jam, lime juice and zest and the pinch of salt. Once the jam is warmed, pour the jam over the crumble and push around with a spoon until it goes almost to the edge of the pan. Sprinkle the rest of the crumble over the jam and place in oven. Bake in the preheated oven for 35-40 minutes, or until crumble is browned and jam is bubbly. Let cool completely before cutting. Enjoy!