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Decadent Raspberry Brownie Bars

Looks and tastes likes something you would see in a Viennese coffee house.

Decadent Raspberry Brownie Bars

  • Servings: 20 bars
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Pastry Layer Ingredients

  • 1 3/4 cups all purpose flour
  • 1/2 cup sugar
  • 2 eggs
  • 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
  • 1/4 teaspoon salt
  • 1/2 cup unsalted butter, cut into pieces and softened
  • 1 egg

Brownie Layer Ingredients

  • 1/2 cup unsalted butter
  • 3 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa
  • 1 cup sugar
  • 1 tablespoon dark rum or a chocolate liqueur
  • 3/4 cup flour
  • 1/4 teaspoon salt
  • 3/4 to 1 cup raspberry preserves
  • 1/4 cup chopped pecans or hazelnuts

Directions

  1. Preheat oven to 350 F.
  2. For the pastry layer, combine the 1 3/4 cups of flour, 1/2 cup sugar, the baking powder and 1/4 teaspoon of salt in a mixing bowl and blend with a pastry cutter or fork.
  3. Add the softened butter pieces and work them into the dry ingredients until the mixture resembles small peas.
  4. Add one egg and stir with the fork until the pastry is well blended.
  5. Press the pastry into the bottom of an ungreased 8” square baking pan and and bake for 20 minutes or until a cake tester inserted in the center comes out clean.
  6. Meanwhile, prepare browning layer: First melt 1/2 cup of butter in a medium size microwave safe bowl until melted.
  7. Add the cocoa to the butter and stir until blended. Stir in 1 cup of sugar. Add two eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition. Add the rum/liqueur, 3/4 cup flour and 1/4 teaspoon salt.
  8. Remove the pastry from the oven briefly. With a metal offset spatula, spread the pastry with raspberry preserves then spread the brownie batter. I like a lot of raspberry filling and used 1 cup of preserves. Do not use jelly!
  9. Sprinkle top with hazelnuts and bake in oven for 25 to 30 minutes or until a tester inserted in the center of the brownie layer comes out clean.
  10. Cool on a rack. Cut brownies into bars before serving.


When I was an innkeeper, I wanted to have a delicious treat waiting for the guests. The innkeepers in this little town were a competitive bunch, each of us trying to outdo our competition. Instead of healthy food like bowls of raisins and nuts, I served these little decadent pastries. They were a hit!

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