Northern Vittles: Lingonberry-raspberry streusel bars

During this past berry season, I had a lot going on, so I didn't get out nearly as much as I usually do to go harvest wild berries. I'm bummed not to have loads of wild blueberries and lingonberries in my freezer, but I did manage to go pick some raspberries at the farm with my friend Linda, and we got a bunch! We were originally only going to stay for an hour, but it was such a gorgeous Friday evening and the air had a crispness to it foreshadowing cooler weather to follow, so we blew off our other plans for the evening and continued to pick and pick and pick.

So this winter, I'll be using these cultivated raspberries to supplement my recipes that call for wild berries.

These streusel bars are quite versatile. The original recipe calls for lingonberry jam and lingonberries, but I usually mix and match a bit-- using different types of jams (or multi-berry jam) and different types of berries, such as lingonberries, raspberries, or wild bluberries.

Ingredients

crust
2 1/2 cups gluten-free flour mix
1/2 tsp xantham gum (if the gluten-free flour mix doesn't already have some in it)
2/3 cup sugar
1/2 tsp salt
2 sticks (1 cup) butter

filling
3/4 cup lingonberry or raspberry jam
3/4 cup lingonberries or raspberries
1 tbsp lemon juice

streusel
2 tbsp butter, softened
1/4 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup rolled oats
1/2 cup pecans (or walnuts)

Directions

Preheat oven to 375° F.

Start by cutting the two sticks of butter up into little pieces.

Combine the flour, (xantham gum, if needed), sugar and salt in a mixing bowl.

Add the butter one chunk at a time while mixing at a low speed.

Mix until the butter is thoroughly blended in; it will have a crumbly texture.

Set aside 1 1/4 cups of the flour mixture to use in the streusel topping.

Butter a 9x13 pan (realistically, you can skip this step since the crust has plenty of butter in it and I've never had a problem with it sticking to a glass dish).

Press the remaining flour mixture in the bottom of the pan, creating a small edge around the perimeter.

Bake 14 to 18 minutes-- until the edges begin to brown.

In a small bowl, mix together the ingredients for the filling-- the jam, the berries, and the lemon juice. Mash up the berries a little bit with a fork.

To the 1 1/4 cups of flour mixture that you set aside, add in the brown sugar, oats, and nut.

Mix in the last 2 tbsp of butter into the streusel topping.

After pulling out the crust,

spread the jam filling evenly over the crust.

I didn't think in had enough berries in it, so I sprinkled another handful of raspberries over the top.

Gently sprinkle the streusel topping evenly over the jam filling. Return the pan to oven and bake 22 to 25 minutes-- until topping is deep golden brown and filling is bubbling.

Let the bars cool before cutting (but I have found that you can get away with not waiting too long!) Cut into squares to serve.