Sour Cream Raisin Bar

So, yeah.

I think I pushed my luck with the whole baking-before-the-sun-comes-up thing.

It worked out so well yesterday that I thought, "why not do it again today?"

I woke up at the crack of dawn again....got everything made and in the oven again...this time though I was hotter than heck.

See...yesterday when I was all smart and using the oven in the morning, it had cooled off enough outside to open all the windows and have the lovely morning air breezing through. Last night it did not cool off....at all... and so the lovely morning air was on fire.

I'm not even lying.

The air was on fire.

Okay...I'm exaggerating a little bit....but still.... it was sooooooo hot!

But, I was already commited so I went ahead with it.

I'm happy I did. This is one of my favorite bars. It is very rich and creamy and crumbly and cinnamony. So worth breathing fire air.

Sour Cream Raisin Bar

Ingredients

2 cups raisins

1 3/4 cup rolled oats

1 3/4 cup flour

1 tsp baking soda

1 cup brown sugar

1 tsp cinnamon

1 cup butter, softened

3 egg yolks

1 1/2 cup sour cream

1 cup sugar

2 1/2 Tbsp cornstarch

1 tsp vanilla

Directions

Preheat oven to 350. Line a 9 X 13 pan with parchment paper, spray lightly with cooking spray.

Cover raisins with hot water and let soak until plump, 5 to 10 mins. Drain and set aside.

Crumble together oats, flour, baking soda, brown sugar, cinnamon, and butter in a large bowl. Pat half of the crumb mixture into prepared pan.

Bake at 350 for 5 minutes. Remove from oven and set aside.

Meanwhile, whisk together egg yolks, sour cream, sugar, and cornstarch in a medium saucepan over medium heat. Stir constantly until mixture thickens, about 10 minutes. Remove from heat and stir in vanilla and raisins.

Pour the filling over the partially baked crust.

Sprinkle the remaining oat mixture over the filling. Lightly pat down.

Bake at 350 for about 30 minutes, until top is browned.

Let cool. Remove from pan using parchment paper handles.

Cut into bars and serve. I would refrigerate these if you are not eating them right away.

The filling for these is similar to my favorite Sour Cream Raisin Pie but still different enough that you should probably make both to see which is your favorite. ;)

Want to know how fast these disappear? See that photo above...

As I was cutting them I had samplers coming in for more.

FYI - If you can get them cut and wrapped before everyone eats them; these freeze really well.

I think I am back on the no-oven-until-fall wagon.

My house is hot and everyone is tired of me whining.

*siiiiiiiigh*

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