Carres Aux Framboises (Raspberry Bars)

Submitted by Chef Kate

"These cookies are simply wonderful, and once you get the hang of turning the top layer of dough onto the pan, they're so easy. And really the recipe is a kind of template--I've made them filled with jams or preserves, with chopped up chocolate. One really handsome version was made with dark and white chocolate and after baking, the two chocolates melded just enough to look like marble. But raspberry is my favorite... Using flat sheets of parchment paper makes this so much easier."

 

• Ready In: 1hr
• Ingredients: 8
• Yields: 16 bars

ingredients

• 709.77 ml all-purpose flour
• 236.59 ml sugar
• 118.29 ml almonds, sliced, blanched
• 1 egg, beaten (for the dough)
• 283.49 g butter, unsalted, softened and cubed
• 1 egg, beaten (for the egg-wash)
• 177.44-236.59 ml raspberry preserves, thick
• 118.29 ml turbinado sugar (coarse sugar, approximate (for sprinkling)

directions

1. Preheat oven to 350°F; have a cookie/half-sheet pan ready.
2. Place sugar and almonds in food processor and process until finely ground (don't overmix).
3. Add flour and process until combined.
4. Add the egg and butter and pulse until dough comes together.
5. Remove to counter and divide in two.
6. Roll out the first half between two sheets of parchment; the dough should be a rectangle 10x14-inch and about 1/8" thick.
7. Remove the top piece of parchment and place the dough, still on the parchment paper, onto the cookie sheet.
8. Brush a 1" border around all the edges of the pastry with the beaten egg.
9. Spread a 1/4" thick layer of preserves over the pastry, leaving the 1" egg-washed border uncovered.
10. Roll out the second half of the pastry as you did the first; remove the top piece of parchment and then lift the dough, paper and all and up-end it on top of the raspberry coated dough (the tricky part). If you have a problem or it breaks, it's very forgiving dough--just position it as best you can.
11. Press the edges of the pastry together gently with your fingertips or the tines of a fork.
12. With a fork or a docker, prick holes all over the surface of the pastry; brush the surface lightly with egg wash and sprinkle with the turbinado (sugar in the raw).
13. Bake until golden, about 25 to 30 minutes.
14. Cool slightly, then trim off the sealed edges so that the jam shows; cut into rectangles; 3x2-inch size yields about 16 bars.