Raspberry Lemonade Bars
Despite how much I adore rich and dense chocolate desserts, sometimes you need something tangy and refreshing to brighten things up. Especially as the weather starts to warm up and road trips, days at the beach (or lake, or pool), and picnics start to fill up weekend plans. Unless, of course, you happen to be stuck where mother nature has decided to play a cruel joke, emptying inches more snow into your backyard. If you’re still stuck with snow, then these bars will remind you that life gets sunnier.
Recipe Rundown
Taste: Refreshingly tangy, tart, fruity, sweet.
Texture: The crust reminds me of sugar cookies more than it reminds me of shortbread, which is perfect because I prefer cookie texture! The filling is lusciously smooth and firm.
Ease: Not hard at all.
Appearance: The brilliant pink color garnished with a sprinkling of white powdered sugar is probably my favorite part of this recipe.
Pros: Perfect for a bake sale, picnic, or something sweet to make you look ahead to the summer months.
Cons: None.
Would I make this again? Probably.
Raspberry Lemonade Bars
Yield: 16 bars
Ingredients:
for the crust:
- 8 tablespoons unsalted butter (1 stick), at room temperature
- 1/4 cup sugar
- 1 cup unbleached all-purpose flour
- pinch salt
for the filling:
- 1 1/2 cups sugar
- 3 egg whites
- 1 whole egg
- 2/3 cup freshly squeezed lemon juice (from 3 lemons)
- 2 tablespoons lemon zest (from 2 lemons)
- 2/3 cup unbleached, all-purpose flour
- pinch of salt
- 1-2 cups of frozen raspberries, defrosted
- 1 tablespoon confectioner’s sugar
Directions:
1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line a 8×8″ square baking pan with a strip of parchment paper that covers the bottom and overlaps on either side (this is so after it cools, you can pull out the entire pan of lime bars and cut them neatly).
2. Cream butter, sugar, and salt with an electric mixer. Mix in flour until just incorporated. Flour hands and press dough into 8×8″ square baking pan, so that it comes up about a 1/2 inch around the sides.
3. Bake for 20-25 minutes, or until slightly golden brown. While it cools, prepare the filling.
4. Whisk sugar, egg whites, egg, lemon juice and zest, flour, and salt in a large bowl. Pour raspberries into a sieve and press through to extract all the pulp and juices. Discard any remaining seeds. Whisk into lemon mixture and pour into crust. Bake for 30-35 minutes until filling is completely set.
5. Let cool completely then place in the fridge to chill. Once chilled, using the overlapping edges of parchment paper, gently lift the dessert from the pan. Cut into 16 squares. Dust with confectioner’s sugar.
Adapted from Sophistimom
Oh my these sounds great!
These sound and look wonderful! They are perfect for these already way too warm days we've been having. I will have to bookmark this one, thanks for sharing
)
Those are so darn pretty. What a perfect way to welcome spring (I'm hoping it's just around the corner).
Love the color! Perfect for spring and summer!
Yum these look ideal!
I'll be making these soon!
these are so pretty! and i'm so impressed with the recipe. i was fully expecting some frozen lemonade concentrate. love that it's just raspberries and lemons!!
These are gorgeous! Hoping some of that warm, sunny weather makes its way to New England soon.
LOVE the color! Will definitley be trying them out!
Pretty! I've never seen raspberry lemonade bars. What a great twist.
these sound oh-so-fabulous! totally perfect for these spring days that seem to be getting warmer and warmer!
I've always love the combo of sweet and tangy and tart. I bet this is going to be my favorite!
omg, i love the color. this will be a great combo of sweet and sour. very nice job.
These are adorable – what a great idea!
Hi Tessa,
So glad to have found this recipe, I was looking for something different for a bake sale. Trying these today.
-Gina-
The color brought me right over here. Sounds like a great combo of tart and sweet – can't wait to try.
I tried this recipe a few days ago. The flavor was good, but the texture was a little odd — gummy and sticky.
Tessa replied: — April 17th, 2011 @ 7:16 pm
Heather, I'm sorry you ended up with a weird texture! I quite enjoyed the texture so I'm not sure why you ended up with a gummy consistency.
These look so summery! I think I'l try makng them with the carton of frozen summer fruits I have in the freezer.
I made this tonight for family & friends and it was a big hit! I'm going to make it again for sure, thanks for sharing!
Mine came out way thicker than in the picture, and also did not set properly… it was so gooey that I had to pop it in the freezer before cutting it. Tasted great though! I think I might add just a little bit of unflavored geletin next time to hold it together.
handleheat replied: — June 23rd, 2011 @ 1:42 am
Hm strange… the only reason I could think as to why yours didn't set properly was maybe they weren't chilled long enough. I can't think of anything else :/ Let me know how the gelatin works if you end up using it!
These look sooo good!
Those look so delicious! Can't wait to try them!
THIS IS MY TYPE OF DESERT WITH FLAVORS I LOVE AND GREAT FOR MY BAKING ABILITIES, OR INABILITIES SORT OF SPEAK.
these turned out great!
Did not set properly at all, even after following the directions exactly. It was just like oozy jelly sitting on top of a sticky cookie.
handleheat replied: — August 5th, 2011 @ 4:10 am
I'm surprised you had that problem because I didn't encounter anything like that. Perhaps you didn't chill it long enough?
kat replied: — April 27th, 2012 @ 11:47 pm
it also depends at what altitude you are baking.
i personally am a bigger fan of hot dogs, also given a choice between burgers, cookies, lemonade, and these weird half cookie/half lemonade/half raspberry tart things, my choices would be a. all you can eat shrimp at red lobster, b. all you can eat pancakes at ihop, cookies and burgers are tied for #3 just cuz obviously they go great together. I'd sub sweet tea in for lemonade and then these tart things are a close #5, but only if you add an extra dash of vanilla, another quart of sugar, and a pinch of love. Love always makes everything taste better
mine set perfect, however, if you are using frozen berries be sure to have them defrosted compltely!!!
from heavenly delicious bakery by brianna
Wow It amazing!
They tasted great! However, as a few mentioned earlier they were a bit gummy.
So I made these yesterday and they were AMAZING!!!! Like they're now on my most yummy dessert ever list. I noticed in the comments that it was a bit on the gooey side, so I just added a few tablespoons more of flour then I put them in the fridge for a few hours before I cut into them. HEAVEN!!!
These are delicious! They taste and feel a little like cheesecake, which I love. Going to try them with strawberry instead of raspberry as well!
oh man, this seems perfect for summer!
would it make a difference if i used fresh raspberries?
tessa replied: — August 12th, 2012 @ 4:23 pm
I’ve never used fresh raspberries for this recipe but I don’t think it would make a huge difference.
I didnt have raspberries on hand but I used blueberries instead and it still came out delicious and looked amazing!!!!!!! My fiance loved them!!!!