Could your dessert rotation use a little zesting up? These fresh bars combine the bright flavors of lemons, limes, grapefruit and blood orange for an easy-to-make treat that's light and practically mess-free.
All items were sourced from Providore Fine Foods here in Portland, including the citrus ingredients that are sourced from Rubinette, and sold within Providore. Lastly, I got a little fancy with the cookies, butter and vanilla, for an added flavor boost—but you can totally use what you already have on hand.
Serving size: 1 bar (makes 9 bars)
Ingredients
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10 oz. raspberry cookies (regular graham crackers are fine), crushed in a food processor
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6 Tbsp. light brown sugar
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1 stick unsalted butter, melted
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2 tsp. kosher salt
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5 tsp. salt
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3 cups white sugar
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¾ Tbsp. flour
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10 eggs
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2 cups mixed citrus (I used a combination of lemons, limes, blood oranges and grapefruit)
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1 Tbsp. vanilla extract
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3 tsp. powdered sugar
Mise En Place
Crust
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10 oz. raspberry cookies (regular graham crackers are fine), crushed in a food processor
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6 Tbsp. light brown sugar
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1 stick unsalted butter, melted
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1 tsp. kosher salt
Preheat your oven to 325°F, and grease a 9 ½ x 9 ½ casserole dish. In a large bowl, combine the dry ingredients with the melted butter. With a spatula, press the mixture into the baking dishes’ bottom (crust will be about an inch thick). Bake for 10 minutes or until the cookie crumbles have set into the baking dish. Set aside and allow to cool completely.
Filling
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3 cups white sugar
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¾ Tbsp. flour
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10 eggs
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2 cups mixed citrus (I used a combination of lemons, limes, blood oranges and grapefruit)
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1 Tbsp. vanilla extract
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3 tsp. powdered sugar
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1 tsp. kosher salt
Heat oven to 450°F. Using a hand mixer, beat the sugar, eggs, citrus, vanilla and salt until entirely combined and the liquid resembles a thin hollandaise.
Pour the citrus mixture over the cooled, set cookie base, and bake for 10 minutes at 450°F before dropping the temperature to 350°F, and covering the baking dish with foil to prevent the bars from burning.
Allow bars to cool at room temperature for two hours before transferring to the refrigerator overnight (or a minimum of three hours), before cutting them into uniform bars. Sprinkle your bars with powdered sugar and serve ‘em up. If all of the fresh things about spring were a dessert, they would be this one!
