Bake 52 Week 33 - Raspberry Streusel Bars

This week we got to make a simple dessert bar.  I substituted strawberries for raspberries so I really made Strawberry Streusel bars.

I set out the butter the night before so it would be softened for the recipe.  Look at that picture below...  it's nearly melted butter!  Crazy heat.  We hit 111 the day I made this.

 After mixing up the dough I pressed it into the prepared pan and tossed it in the oven. 

Then I took the reserved crust and added the brown sugar, pecans and other yummy stuff to make the strusel. 

 The crust cooked up nicely.  Once it was out of the oven I just spread the strawberries, strawberry jam (actually jelly) and lemon juice mix over the hot crust. 

 Then I sprinkled the strusel over the top and tossed it back in the oven. 

 After 25 minutes in the oven it was bubbly, hot and crisp. 

 The next morning I pulled it out of the pan - the aluminum foil sling worked great! - and cut them into bars.

I always end up having one (or more) before I finish cutting the dessert.  No self-control!

The streusel bars tasted a little like toast with butter and jam.  The streusel and the crust were both really buttery.  I wasn't too impressed with the flavor - it thought the streusel needed more sugar...:-)

For the full recipe check out Jennifer's blog.