With summer right around the corner, I am making it my mission to incorporate more lemon recipes into my weekly baking routine
Lemon bars are easily one of my favorite desserts, but I wanted to add some extra color to the plain yellow tops of my lemon bars.
Raspberries are bright in color and mix into the batter to create a beautiful, tie-dye appearance before baking. I’d sent a photo to some of my friends without telling them what it was, they told me it looked like a yummy cheese pizza. LOL! What do you think?
These lemon bars are full of tart, sweet flavor, complimented by the color and delicious flavor of the raspberries
The hardest part about this recipe is how fast it seems to disappear once it’s made 🙂
The Ingredients
All-Purpose Flour: The flour I used for the crust and filling. I would recommend sifting it before adding to the filling to maintain its smooth, pudding-like consistency
Powdered Sugar: Only used for the crust to maintain a dense, sweet layer below the lemon filling
White Granulated Sugar: Used for the filling. Don’t worry, when mixed with the wet ingredients your result will not be grainy! It mixes well to maintain a sweet but stiff texture once baked
Unsalted Butter: I prefer unsalted so I know how much salt is in my recipe, but it’s completely alright to use salted butter if you have that on hand. Just shift the amount of salt you add after (see recipe notes for conversion)
Lemon: I collect the zest and juice just before mixing into the recipe. I like to do this while my crust is baking and/or cooling to optimize my time. I used about 4 smaller-sized lemons for this recipe
Eggs: If this is your first lemon bar recipe, 4 eggs may seem like a lot. I assure you this is pretty standard. The proteins in the eggs allow the filling to stiffen while baking, yet maintain the curd-like consistency we love in lemon bars
Raspberries: Fresh raspberries are ideal for this recipe, but in this economy that may be hard to come by. Frozen raspberries should work fine, but allow them time to thaw before adding. You want them to be at room temperature to bake properly
step 1: the crust
step 2: the filling
Lemon Raspberry Bars
Equipment
- 1 zester/grater for lemon zest and juice
- 1 Large Bowl
- 1 Medium Bowl
- 1 9×13 baking pan
Ingredients
Shortbread Crust
- 2 cups flour
- 1/2 cup powdered sugar
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 2 sticks unsalted butter chilled
Lemon Raspberry Filling
- 4 eggs room temperature
- 1/2 cup squeezed lemon juice about 3 lemons
- 2 tbsp lemon zest
- 1/3 cup flour sifted
- 1 1/3 cup granulated sugar
- 1/2 cup raspberries crushed
- 1/2 cup raspberries optional for garnish
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350 ℉ and line a 9×13 pan with parchment paper or spray with nonstick baking spray
Shortbread Crust
- Cut chilled butter into small cubes
- Mix shortbread ingredients (flour, butter, salt, and powdered sugar) in a large bowl until fully combined and crumbly
- If using a metal pan, chill in fridge for 10 minutes. If glass, omit chilling step and pop into the oven
- Bake for 18-20 minutes or until golden brown around the edges
- Once baked, leave out to cool while finishing the lemon filling. If you finisg mixing your lemon batter while the crust is still baking, wait 10-15 minutes before pouring batter over the crust to bake
Raspberry Lemon Bars
- Zest and juice 3-4 lemons, until the measurement for each is reached
- Whisk eggs together until fully mixed, then add in lemon juice, zest and sugar
- Sift flour over the batter and whisk well until fully incorperated
- Mash raspberries and mix into the batter. You may notice as the batter rests pieces of raspberry will rise to the surface, this is normal
- Pour over semi-cooled crust and bake for another 20-25 minutes, checking closely around the 20-minute mark. Bars are done when they jiggle slightly in the middle and the top is just starting to turn a golden brown
- Remove from the oven and allow to cool on the counter for 30-45 minutes. Once cooled pop into the fridge for at least 2 hours, though 8-12 hours is best.
- Slice with a sharp knife, top with powdered sugar and fresh raspberries if available. Enjoy!