Raspberry Lemonade Bars

As mentioned over the weekend, nothing makes me happier than piles and fresh fruit. During the summer I never have any issues with meeting my daily requirements of fruit and wish that we had this available year-round.

When I saw these bars, my mouth immediately puckered at the thought of tart raspberries and lemonade mixing together. I can see how to some people that would make you think I wouldn't want to try this, but its actually quite the opposite.

Raspberry Lemonade Bars
Source: Tide and Thyme
Servings: 24
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Ingredients:
Crust:

2 ¼ sticks unsalted butter, at room temperature
½ cup sugar
2 cups all purpose flour
½ tsp. salt

Raspberry Lemonade Layer:

3 cups sugar
1 ⅓ cup all purpose flour
3 tbsp. lemon zest
¼ tsp. salt
3 cups frozen raspberries, thawed
6 egg whites
2 eggs
1 cup freshly squeezed lemon juice
powdered sugar, for dusting

Directions:
1. Preheat the oven to 350. Line a 9x13 pan with parchment paper.
2. Place butter and sugar in the bowl of your stand mixer with the paddle attachment. Beat until smooth, then add in the flour and salt.
3. Lightly flour your hands and press the dough into the prepared baking pan.
4. Bake for 25 minutes or until golden brown.
5. While the crust is baking, add the sugar, flour, lemon zest and salt to a large bowl. Whisk to combine.
6. Puree the raspberries in a blender or food processor, then press through a fine sieve to remove all of the seeds.
7. Add the egg whites and eggs to the bowl and whisk until fully incorporated. Then add the raspberry puree and lemon juice. Stir until fully combined.
8. Spread evenly on top of the baked crust. Bake for 40-45 minutes or until the center does not jiggle.
9. Cool to room temperature, then cover and refrigerate until chilled (at least 2 hours).
10. Lift chilled bars from the pan using the parchment paper. Slice into 24+ slices and dust with powdered sugar before serving.

I had to make two small adjustments to this recipe, one being to puree the recipes in the blender first because mine had not thawed to the desired consistency to be able to mash them properly by hand. I also had to omit ⅓ cup of lemon juice because well, I underestimated just how many lemons I would need.

I think these turned out quite pretty and they were definitely tart enough, even without the extra lemon juice. I had Tom take these into work and I received rave reviews on them. I'd definitely like to make them again for a party.

This post is linked at: What'd You Do This Weekend , Mix it Up Monday, Melt in Your Mouth Monday and Recipe Sharing Monday.