Raspberry Streusel Bars (Recipe #29)

        Dessert is my favorite meal of the day. The raspberry streusel bars in the Vegan for Everybody cookbook were a homerun! These beautiful bars were composed of a pastry like crust, a tasty fruit filling, and a crumbly topping!

I went raspberry picking and I wanted to find a dessert that highlighted the flavor of the raspberries. There is nothing more appropriate than a raspberry streusel bar! The filling was composed of fresh raspberries, raspberry jam (I used grape because that is what I had on hand),and lemon juice. The lemon juice added a brightness to the mixture. I poured this filling over a pastry crust that was baked for about 14 minutes. I topped the filling with the “streusel” topping--this included flour, sugar, salt, coconut oil, chopped pecans (I used walnuts), and oats. The combination of the three layers is well thought out and was well executed. I was happy with how these turned out and they did highlight the beautiful fresh picked raspberries!

A lot of the recipes in this cookbook call for coconut oil. I have noticed that this usage is very strategic. I used coconut oil a handful of time before this cookbook, but I have never used it like this book does. I used it to coat a pan for sauteing vegetables, but my experience with it stopped there. These recipes use coconut oil almost as a substitute for butter in regular recipes. The coconut oil helps to create really flaky crusts (especially in this recipe!) and adds a smoothness to the baked goods. I am looking forward to working with coconut oil more and seeing what other magical things that it can help accomplish!

Taste: 10/10

Level of difficulty: 1/5

Notes for next time: I would love to keep this recipe and change the filling based on the season! I think this would be great with an apricot filling or a blueberry filling!