Hi, friends! I have a DIVINE recipe to share with you today! Perfect for these gorgeous end-of-summer days. I first came across this recipe on Roxane Gay’s blog, which was inspired by this recipe on smitten kitchen, for cherry brown butter bars.

Alas, I do not own a cherry pitter, and the lovely Erica requested a raspberry dessert for our dinner get-together a couple weeks ago, so I decided to make raspberry brown butter bars instead. They turned out wonderfully. I think these bars would also be lovely with blackberries, blueberries, strawberries, even pears — feel free to experiment!

raspberry brown butter bars

crust:
– 7 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted
– 1/3 cup brown sugar
– 1/4 teaspoon vanilla extract
– 1 cup plus 1 tablespoon flour {I made mine gf so used 1/2 cup oat flour & 1/2 cup rice flour}
– a pinch of salt

filling:
– 1/2 cup sugar
– 2 large eggs
– a pinch of salt
– 1/4 cup flour {I again used a combo of oat flour & rice flour}
– 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
– 1/2 cup  unsalted butter, diced
– 12 ounces raspberries

1. Preheat oven to 375°F. Use butter or Pam to grease an 8 x 8 glass baking pan.

2. Mix melted butter, sugar, and vanilla in medium bowl. Add flour and salt and stir until incorporated.

3. Transfer dough to your greased pan, and use your fingertips to press the dough evenly across the bottom of the pan.

4. Bake the crust until golden, about 18 minutes. Let crust cool in pan. Maintain oven temperature.

5. Make the filling: Cook butter in heavy small saucepan {a lighter-colored one will make it easier to see the color changing, which happens quickly} over medium heat until deep nutty brown.

6. Be careful not to overcook because it will burn!

7. Here are my best tips to not burn the butter: stir constantly and watch carefully. If in doubt, after about six minutes, consider it browned. Immediately pour browned butter into glass measuring cup or glass container to allow it to cool slightly.

8. Whisk sugar, eggs, and salt in medium bowl to blend. Add flour and vanilla and whisk until smooth. Gradually whisk browned butter into sugar-egg mixture; whisk until well blended.

9. Arrange raspberries in the bottom of cooled crust. Carefully pour browned butter mixture evenly over the fruit.

10. Bake bars until filling is puffed and golden and tester inserted into center comes out clean, about 40 minutes. Cool completely in pan on rack and then cut into bars.

Enjoy!

if you liked this recipe, you might also like:

– triple-berry cobbler
– zesty lemon bars
– rice krispies treats w/m&ms