High Country Baking: Chocolate-raspberry oatmeal cookie tart

Chocolate and raspberries, a classic pairing, stars in this easy-to-make dessert. Streusel-crowned raspberry jam and chips of dark chocolate on a sweet oatmeal crust are baked into a thin circle of rich tastes and contrasting textures.

It’s attention-getting good, but is it a cookie or a tart? Well, it’s both. At room temperature it’s served as a cookie to be picked up and nibbled. But when warmed, and the chocolate and jam soften, it becomes a tart to top with a rosette of sweetened whipped cream.

Make sure the jam you select is thick and flavorful. If necessary, thicken it by heating it in a saucepan at a low temperature on a stovetop, stirring often, until some of its liquid evaporates. Select high-quality chocolate chips or, if you prefer, use a bar of good chocolate chopped into chip-sized pieces.

Chocolate-raspberry cookie tart

Make in a 9-inch tart pan with a removable bottom. Adjusted for elevations of 7,000 feet and above.

Oatmeal base/streusel

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• 3/4 cup old fashioned rolled oats
• 3/4 cup unbleached all-purpose flour, spoon and level
• 1/4 cup granulated sugar, preferably superfine
• 1/4 cup packed dark brown sugar
• 1/4 plus 1/8 teaspoon baking powder
• 8 tablespoons (one stick) unsalted butter, cold
• 1/2 teaspoon vanilla paste or extract

Topping

• Generous 1/2 cup raspberry jam
• 1/2 cup chocolate chips
• 1/2 cup sliced almonds

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees with a rack in the center position. Grease your pan with a baking spray that contains flour, and set it aside.

Combine the rolled oats, flour, both sugars and baking powder in the bowl of a food processor, and pulse until blended. Cut the butter into small pieces, add them with the vanilla, and pulse only until small clumps/coarse crumbs form. Don’t let the mixture form a dough. Remove 1/2 cup to use as streusel, and set it aside.

Scrape the remainder of the oat mixture into your prepared pan, distribute it evenly, and gently press it into a level layer. Bake until it’s set and lightly colored, 12-16 minutes. Remove to a rack to cool slightly and leave the oven on.

Stir the jam until it’s smooth. If it’s cold, you might need to warm it a little in a microwave oven at a very low temperature before stirring it. Spread the jam evenly on the warm base, and sprinkle the chocolate chips over it. Toss the reserved oatmeal mixture with 3/4 of the almonds, crushing the nuts as you do so, and scatter this mixture on top. Place the remaining uncrushed nuts decoratively all over the top.

Bake until the streusel colors lightly, the jam is bubbling and a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean, about 20-25 minutes. Move to a rack to cool. Once cooled, remove the pan sides and use a thin-bladed, sharp knife to cut the circle into triangles. Serve them at room temperature as a cookie, or rewarm them in a microwave or 300-degree oven, add a rosette of sweetened whipped cream, if desired, and serve them as a tart. Store covered in the fridge for five days.

Editor’s note: This recipe is a variation of one published by Esther Brody.

Vera Dawson’s column “High Country Baking” publishes biweekly in the Summit Daily News. Dawson is a high-elevation baking instructor and author of three high-altitude cookbooks. Her recipes have been tested in her kitchen in Frisco, where she’s lived since 1991, and altered until they work at elevation. Contact her at veradawson1@gmail.com.