An old recipe for some new Raspberry Squares

Last week, I started testing recipes for my second book of department store tearoom recipes, and this one is perhaps the richest dessert I have ever made. It would have been lovely to be able to order a single slice of this at a tearoom, because then you wouldn't have it sitting there in the fridge at home to tempt you. This recipe comes from a booklet I bought on eBay years ago titled Holiday Treats and Elegant Buffet Dishes, and it comes from the tearoom at Halle Brothers Co., an old department store that was based in Cleveland, Ohio.

I do love raspberry-flavored treats, so once I discovered that this recipe calls for raspberry pie filling and that said pie filling can be purchased at Walmart, I was all in!

The taste was all I hoped it would be. The cookie-type base added the structure needed, and the tartness of the raspberry pie filling … well, I should just buy the pie filling and eat it straight out of the can. But that topping … when you take a look at all the fattening stuff that's in it, you'll see why this is so good! (I did a drive-by and dropped some off with friends to get it out of the house quicker, and it got great reviews.) And a bar of about 1 x 3 inches would sure be a fancy addition to a tea tray—at the holidays or anytime. So here's the recipe if you're interested in trying it!

Halle's Tearoom Raspberry Squares

Dough:

3 cups flour

1 teaspoon salt

1 tablespoon baking powder

1/2 cup sugar

1 cup cold margarine (I used butter)

3 egg yolks

1/2 cup milk

1 teaspoon vanilla

Filling:

2 cups raspberry pie filling (I used Duncan Hines brand)

Icing:

1 cup butter, softened

1 teaspoon salt

1 cup marshmallow creme

1/2 cup vegetable shortening

1 (8-ounce) package cream cheese

1 (16-ounce) box powdered sugar

Garnish: 1 cup coconut

Combine flour, salt, baking powder, sugar, and butter and blend well, just as you would a pie dough. (Following a tip I read in Southern Living years ago, I use a cheese grater and *grate* my cold butter when I need to blend it into biscuits, scones, etc. It's so much easier to get those "pea-sized" pieces that way.) In a small bowl, beat egg yolks, milk, and vanilla and add to dry ingredients, and combine all with a fork until well blended. Chill dough for one hour.

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Roll out a little over half of the dough, rolling it quite thin. (I rolled mine between two pieces of wax paper, and the colder the dough, the better.) Place on a large (15.25 x 10.25-inch) greased cookie sheet. Spread with pie filling, almost to edges. Roll out the remainder of the dough very thin and place over the filling. Bake about 25 minutes or until light brown. Cool completely.

For icing, whip all ingredients together using an electric mixer and, when pan of cookies is completely cool, spread on top. Sprinkle with coconut. Cut into squares of desired size.

Recipe notes that “blueberry pie filling is equally delicious.”