Here’s a quick and easy recipe that I threw together… ok, I actually threw it together twice, because I made both a raspberry version and a lemon curd version. These two shortbread bars are actually very similar — identical until the top part, actually. I wanted to show how versatile this recipe is, and that it is super super easy to make. Start to finish in under an hour, though they do take a while to cool. I made 12 oblong bars out of each (4 x 3 cut), but you could do 4 x 4 so they are almost cookie-sized.
for the crust (for either flavor)
1/2 cup unsalted butter, melted
1/4 cup granulated sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 cup all-purpose flour
Filling
1 cup raspberry jam
or
1 cup lemon curd
Streusel
1/2 cup old-fashioned oats
1/3 cup packed light or dark brown sugar
1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/4 cup all-purpose flour
1/4 cup unsalted butter, cold and cubed
For the raspberry only: 1/2 cup almond slices
Directions
Preheat the oven to 300F. Create a foil sling for an 8-inch baking pan, leaving enough overhang to remove the bars later.
Make the crust: Stir the melted butter, granulated sugar, vanilla, and salt together in a medium bowl. Add the flour and stir until everything is combined. Press the mixture evenly into the prepared baking pan. Bake for 15 minutes. Remove the crust from the oven, and turn the oven up to 350F.
Spread either the raspberry jam or the lemon crud on the still warm crust, all the way to the edges.
Make the streusel: Whisk the oats, brown sugar, cinnamon, and flour together in a medium bowl. Cut in the chilled butter with a pastry blender or two forks (or even with your hands) until the mixture resembles coarse crumbs. Sprinkle the filling with streusel. For the raspberry, sprinkle over the almond slices (you can do this for the lemon as well, but the flavor combo isn’t as nice). Bake for 30–35 minutes or until the streusel is golden brown. The filling should be bubbling on the edges.
Remove from the oven and allow to cool for at least 2 hours (or overnight). Lift the foil or parchment out of the pan using the overhang on the sides and cut into 9, 12 or 16 bars.
