Day 24: Raspberries

Yesterday, I made Chewy Raspberry Squares using the raspberries that Ash had picked last week (top left).  Today, I was up at eight--when it became too hot to sleep--so I picked the raspberries bushes in the backyard clean.  Then I made raspberry sorbet.  It's still not quite frozen yet, but it sure is good (bottom left).

Chewy Raspberry Squares
1/2 cup butter or margarine at room temp
1 cup light brown sugar, firmly packed (it's awfully sweet, so you could probably get away with only using 2/3 or 3/4 of a cup)
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 cup flour
1 tsp baking powder
1 cup oats
1/2 cup raspberry preserves (I just cooked my raspberries on the stove with some sugar)

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Coat an 8 x 8-inch baking pan with cooking spray.
2. In a medium mixing bowl, beat butter and brown sugar until smooth and fluffy. Beat in vanilla extract.
3. Mix in flour, baking powder and oats until mixture is combined and crumbly. Reserve 1/4 cup of the mixture for topping; set aside. Pat remaining mixture into the bottom of prepared baking pan.
4. Spoon preserves on top of oat layer, spreading as much as possible without disturbing the bottom layer. Sprinkle reserved topping on the top of preserve layer.
5. Bake for 30 to 40 minutes or until lightly browned. Remove from oven and cool on a wire rack. When cooled, cut into squares.