Apple-Raspberry Crumb Bars — Bake-Ahead Batches

Craving both cookies and pie? A classic crumb bar is just what you need! It’s got a tender, sweet cookie base, real fruit filling and a chewy crumb topping. More portable than pie and more satisfying than a cookie, I’d say a crumb bar with a tall glass of milk would even make a pretty good breakfast (if there were any leftovers from the day before, that is!).

Classic crumb bars often call for jam or preserves to make the fruit layer. While this is an acceptable substitute in a pinch, I think that fresh fruit makes a bolder, brighter and all-around more delicious statement. The fruit layer has a juicy quality that complements the buttery cookie so well. It’s also less sweet, making a bar that you can really enjoy in its entirety without any cloying stickiness to contend with.

But what to do when your favorite fruit is out of season? Make your way to the frozen-fruit aisle at the supermarket! The truth is, unless I can get the most-spectacular, in-season fruit, I actually prefer to bake with frozen. Since this fruit has been picked at peak ripeness, I find it reliably sweet and delicious, and often a better value, too.

Get the Recipe: Apple-Raspberry Crumb Bars

Samantha Seneviratne is a New York-based writer, recipe developer and food stylist. She is the author of The New Sugar and Spice (Ten Speed Press), a baking cookbook combining family stories and food history with recipes that reimagine dessert as a more balanced mix of sugar and spice. Her second book, Gluten Free for Good (Clarkson Potter), comes out in August 2016. She blogs about dessert at Love, Cake.

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