Chocolate Raisin Bars
Buttery shortbread-style raisin bars dipped in melted semi-sweet chocolate. Made with potato flour and vanilla sugar for a tender, crumbly European-style biscuit. Makes 20.
YIELD
20 servingsPREP
20 minCOOK
35 minREADY
1 hrsThese are the kind of refined little biscuits you’d find in a European bakery window, neatly lined up and gleaming under a coat of chocolate.
The base is a buttery shortbread made tender with potato flour and lightly sweet from vanilla sugar. Chopped raisins get pressed right into the dough, adding chewy pockets of fruit throughout.
After baking until barely golden, the bars get cut into neat squares and dipped in melted semi-sweet chocolate. Once the chocolate sets, you’ve got a two-texture treat: crumbly, melt-in-your-mouth shortbread with a crisp chocolate shell.
Pipe any leftover melted chocolate over the tops for a professional finish.
Chef Tips
- Keep the butter cold when cutting it into the flour for the flakiest, most crumbly texture
- Prick the dough well with a fork before baking to prevent puffing and ensure even browning
- Score the bars while still slightly warm; they’ll crack if you wait until fully cooled
- Tap the fork gently against the bowl after dipping to let excess chocolate drip off for a clean, even coating
Ingredients
Directions
Preheat oven to 350℉ (180℃).
Sift all-purpose flour, salt, potato flour and vanilla sugar into a medium-size bowl.
Cut in butter until mixture forms coarse crumbs; mix in raisins.
Mix together to form a soft dough.
Roll out dough on a floured surface to a rectangle slightly smaller than an 11×7 inch baking pan.
Place rolled-out dough in pan; press to fit.
Smooth top; prick well.
Bake about 25 minutes or until very lightly browned.
Cool a few minutes. Using a sharp knife, mark through surface of mixture with lines to use as a guide for cutting.
Let cool in pan.
Cut mixture in 20 squares; remove from pan.
Place chocolate in a small bowl over a pan of gently simmering water; stir until melted and smooth.
Line a baking sheet with foil.
Dip bars in chocolate, coating evenly; lift out with a fork and tap gently on side of bowl to remove excess chocolate.
Place on foil. Place baking sheet in a cool place until chocolate sets.
If desired, any remaining chocolate can be piped over bars for decoration.
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