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Blackberry Bliss Bars

By America's Test Kitchen

Published on October 5, 2011

Time

1½ hours, plus 1 hour cooling

Yield

Makes 24 bars

Blackberry Bliss Bars

Ingredients

1 ¼ cups (6¼ ounces/177 grams) all-purpose flour 12 tablespoons (1 ½ sticks) unsalted butter, cut into ½-inch pieces and chilled⅔ cup packed (4⅔ ounces/132 grams) dark brown sugar ¼ cup (1¾ ounces/50 grams) granulated sugar ½ teaspoon salt ¼ teaspoon ground cinnamon ¾ cup (2¼ ounces/64 grams) sweetened shredded coconut, toasted½ cup (1½ ounces/43 grams) old-fashioned oats 1 ¼ cups seedless blackberry jam 1 cup walnuts, toasted and chopped (see note)¾ cup (4½ ounces/128 grams) semisweet chocolate chips ¾ cup (4½ ounces/128 grams) white chocolate chips ¼ cup Heath Toffee Bits

Before You Begin

To toast the coconut and walnuts, bake in a 325-degree oven, stirring occasionally, until golden, about 15 minutes.

Instructions

  1. MAKE CRUST Adjust oven rack to middle position and heat oven to 350 degrees. Line 13- by 9-inch baking pan with aluminum foil, allowing excess foil to hang over pan edges. Grease foil. Pulse flour, butter, brown sugar, granulated sugar, salt, and cinnamon in food processor until mixture resembles coarse meal. Transfer mixture to medium bowl and stir in coconut and oats. Reserve 3/4 cup and press remaining mixture into prepared pan. Bake until light golden, 15 to 18 minutes. Cool on wire rack for 10 minutes.
  2. PREPARE TOPPING Spread jam over warm crust. Sprinkle with walnuts, semisweet and white chocolate chips, toffee, then reserved crumb mixture. Bake until bubbly and golden brown, 18 to 22 minutes. Cool completely on wire rack, about 1 hour. Using foil overhang, lift cookies out of pan. Cut into 24 pieces. (Bars can be stored in airtight container at room temperature for 3 days.)
Blackberry Bliss Bars

Blackberry Bliss Bars

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By America's Test Kitchen
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Time

1½ hours, plus 1 hour cooling

Yield

Makes 24 bars

Ingredients

1 ¼ cups (6¼ ounces/177 grams) all-purpose flour
12 tablespoons (1 ½ sticks) unsalted butter, cut into ½-inch pieces and chilled
⅔ cup packed (4⅔ ounces/132 grams) dark brown sugar
¼ cup (1¾ ounces/50 grams) granulated sugar
½ teaspoon salt
¼ teaspoon ground cinnamon
¾ cup (2¼ ounces/64 grams) sweetened shredded coconut, toasted
½ cup (1½ ounces/43 grams) old-fashioned oats
1 ¼ cups seedless blackberry jam
1 cup walnuts, toasted and chopped (see note)
¾ cup (4½ ounces/128 grams) semisweet chocolate chips
¾ cup (4½ ounces/128 grams) white chocolate chips
¼ cup Heath Toffee Bits

Test Kitchen Techniques

Ingredients

1 ¼ cups (6¼ ounces/177 grams) all-purpose flour
12 tablespoons (1 ½ sticks) unsalted butter, cut into ½-inch pieces and chilled
⅔ cup packed (4⅔ ounces/132 grams) dark brown sugar
¼ cup (1¾ ounces/50 grams) granulated sugar
½ teaspoon salt
¼ teaspoon ground cinnamon
¾ cup (2¼ ounces/64 grams) sweetened shredded coconut, toasted
½ cup (1½ ounces/43 grams) old-fashioned oats
1 ¼ cups seedless blackberry jam
1 cup walnuts, toasted and chopped (see note)
¾ cup (4½ ounces/128 grams) semisweet chocolate chips
¾ cup (4½ ounces/128 grams) white chocolate chips
¼ cup Heath Toffee Bits

Test Kitchen Techniques

Ingredients

1 ¼ cups (6¼ ounces/177 grams) all-purpose flour
12 tablespoons (1 ½ sticks) unsalted butter, cut into ½-inch pieces and chilled
⅔ cup packed (4⅔ ounces/132 grams) dark brown sugar
¼ cup (1¾ ounces/50 grams) granulated sugar
½ teaspoon salt
¼ teaspoon ground cinnamon
¾ cup (2¼ ounces/64 grams) sweetened shredded coconut, toasted
½ cup (1½ ounces/43 grams) old-fashioned oats
1 ¼ cups seedless blackberry jam
1 cup walnuts, toasted and chopped (see note)
¾ cup (4½ ounces/128 grams) semisweet chocolate chips
¾ cup (4½ ounces/128 grams) white chocolate chips
¼ cup Heath Toffee Bits

Test Kitchen Techniques

Why This Recipe Works

The combination of blackberry jam, two kinds of chocolate, nuts, coconut, oats, toffee complicated produced Blackberry Bliss Bars that were packed with flavor. Toasting the coconut and walnuts added even more additional flavor to our bars.

To make it easier to remove the bars when they finished baking, we used two pieces of aluminum foil to construct a sling inside our baking dish.

Before You Begin

To toast the coconut and walnuts, bake in a 325-degree oven, stirring occasionally, until golden, about 15 minutes.

Instructions

  1. MAKE CRUST Adjust oven rack to middle position and heat oven to 350 degrees. Line 13- by 9-inch baking pan with aluminum foil, allowing excess foil to hang over pan edges. Grease foil. Pulse flour, butter, brown sugar, granulated sugar, salt, and cinnamon in food processor until mixture resembles coarse meal. Transfer mixture to medium bowl and stir in coconut and oats. Reserve 3/4 cup and press remaining mixture into prepared pan. Bake until light golden, 15 to 18 minutes. Cool on wire rack for 10 minutes.
  2. PREPARE TOPPING Spread jam over warm crust. Sprinkle with walnuts, semisweet and white chocolate chips, toffee, then reserved crumb mixture. Bake until bubbly and golden brown, 18 to 22 minutes. Cool completely on wire rack, about 1 hour. Using foil overhang, lift cookies out of pan. Cut into 24 pieces. (Bars can be stored in airtight container at room temperature for 3 days.)

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