Raspberry Squares

As a child, I loved summertime. Growing up with lots of land meant lots of time outdoors. One of my favorite places to play was down by the pond. The pond wasn't too large, was just deep enough to swim in and was filled with fascinating creatures: spiders that skimmed the water's surface, little minnows that darted away as I came near and gelatinous clusters of frog eggs that clung stickily to cattail reeds. As summer wore on, I would watch the tadpoles form legs and their tails shorten bit by bit. Soon they were itty-bitty frogs that would sun themselves amongst the short, mossy grass that fringed the water. I would walk around the edge as quietly as I could, hoping to sneak up on an unsuspecting frog. I would get oh-so-close before they would jump alarmingly into the safety of the water and out of my reach.

Three, large willow trees rested comfortably on the banks of the pond, their long, slender branches whispering in the breeze, telling of summer gossip and years gone by. They were enduring trees. They had been there a hundred years and would be for a hundred more, never changing, watching serenely, as summer after summer came and went. 

Along down by the willows, on the other side of the bank, grew wild raspberry and blackberry bushes. The path to the bright berry, hanging dangerously loose from its perch, was blocked by thorns and briars. But a prick here and there was quickly forgotten as the berry would tumble lightly into my reaching fingers, and burst into flavor in my waiting mouth. Its juices, warmed by the sun, would drip their red blood on my clothes and stain my fingers. My dad, humming by on the riding mower, would stop and pick berries with us, reaching the more difficult ones and teaching us that the ripest berries need not be pulled from the bush. To my seven year old mind, it was the quintessence of summer. 

Raspberry Squares

Makes 2 dozen

Total time: 1 hour plus 1 1/2 hours cooling time

1 1/2 cups flour

1 1/4 cups quick-cooking oats

1/3 cup sugar

1/3 cup packed brown sugar

1/4 tsp. baking soda

1/4 tsp. salt

1/2 cup finely chopped pecans or almonds (optional)

12 T. butter, softened but still cool and cut into 12 pieces.

1 cup raspberry (or blackberry!) preserves

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease a 9x9 inch pan. 

In bowl of standing mixer, combine flour, oats, sugars, baking soda, salt and nuts.

With mixer on low, add butter pieces, one at a time. 

Continue to beat until well-blended and mixture resembles wet sand, about 2 minutes. 

With your hands, press 2/3 of the oat mixture in a 9 x 9 inch pan. 

Bake for 20 minutes, or until a light golden brown.

Spread raspberry preserves (although, I used blackberry this time) on top of baked crust. 

Take care not to spread the preserves all the way to the edge, 

as the preserves will stick to the sides of your pan and make removal difficult!

Crumble remaining oat mixture on top of preserves.

Bake for 30 minutes, or until golden brown and filling bubbles. 

Cool to room temperature (about 1 1/2 hours) before cutting and serving.

Recipe from Baking Illustrated.