summer soiree. [raspberry lemonade bars]

August 21st, 2010 by | comments

Ok, I know I just made lime bars (here), but I recently found this recipe for raspberry lemonade bars and couldn’t resist—I had to make them. Since I have always relied on my lemon bar recipe for the filling and crust, I was somewhat hesitant on trying a new recipe. I am sure glad I did, however, because these bars were absolutely fantastic.

At times, I’m very impatient when it comes to baking. In regards to these bars, I wanted them to cool in 5 minutes so I could try a bite. Instead of letting the bars chill in the fridge for an hour or so, I figured they’d be just fine after 20 minutes (and they were). My first bite into one of these sweet treats was complete ecstasy. The refreshing raspberry lemonade flavor made them the perfect summer dessert.

Once you’ve finished making the bars, I would suggest keeping them in the fridge so the crust does not get soggy. This way, the bars will stay fresh for more than a few days. If you’re not wild about a ton of filling on top of your bars, just pour half or 3/4 of the mixture on top of the crust. This will tame the sweetness of each bar a bit. (FYI: I used all the filling).

  • Note: The blueberries in the picture below have absolutely nothing to do with the bars. I just didn’t have any raspberries left for decorating, so I figured some fruit was better than none!

Crust recipe:

9 tbs. unsalted butter (1 stick, plus 1 tbs.)

1/4 cup superfine (or granulated) sugar

1 cup unbleached, all-purpose flour

Pinch of salt

Filling recipe:

1 1/2 cups superfine (or granulated) sugar

3 egg whites

1 egg

2/3 cup freshly squeezed lemons (from 3 lemons)

2 tbsp. lemon zest (from 2 lemons)

2/3 cup unbleached, all-purpose flour

Pinch of salt

2 cups frozen raspberries, defrosted

1 tbs. confectioners sugar

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Spray the 8×8″ pan with PAM cooking spray, or line it with a strip of parchment paper.

Cream butter, sugar, flour and salt with an electric mixer. Press dough into baking pan and make sure it’s evenly distributed in the pan.

Bake crust for about 20 minutes, or until slightly golden brown. Prepare the filling while crust bakes.

Whisk sugar, egg whites, egg, lemon juice and zest, flour and salt in a large bowl. Pour defrosted raspberries into a sieve and press through with spatula to extract the pulp and juices. Whisk into lemon mixture and pour on top of hot crust. Bake for about 25-30 minutes, or until filling is completely set.

Dust bars with confectioners sugar then let cool. Enjoy!

Website where I found the recipe: http://www.sophistimom.com/bake-sale-week-raspberry-lemonade-bars/

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