Lemon Raspberry Bars

Listen up guys! Because this is one of my new favorite recipes. It really is a MUST MAKE before summer’s over. We (and by we I mean Kara) made these a few weeks ago for my Mom to bring to a friend’s house in Lake Geneva. I was anticipating a winner because of the berry-lemon combo and I was right!!

But before I go on and on about how amazing.tasty.yummy these bars were, I need to let something off my chest. See…we made our Lemon Raspberry Bars the night before my Mom needed them and put ’em in the fridge overnight. When morning rolled around and I started cutting them into squares they were a bit mushy. I saved one square so that Cliff could picture it later, ate a couple of the ugly ones (ssshh!) and packed the rest up for my Mom. She was definitely disappointed that they weren’t more firm. An hour-long drive to Lake Geneva probably didn’t help matters either. With that being said, the piece I saved went into the freezer for a few hours and when I took it out it was pure heaven. It had firmed up perfectly and it tasted amazing.

So maybe my fridge isn’t cold enough. Or maybe when the recipe said chilled it meant freezer, not fridge. I’m not sure. But I’d suggest popping these suckers in the freezer for a couple of hours.

Now onto how amazing.tasty.yummy these are. First of all the crust alone is good. I love graham crackers, butter and sugar! Second, while these are sweet, the lemon makes them tart at the same time. A winning combination for sure. If you are a lemon lover like me then I promise you’ll love them…they have juice and zest!! And third, they were positively beautiful. The fresh raspberries gave them bold pops of color against the yellow-ish filling.

Seriously to die for. Happy Friday guys!!

TGIF.

Here's what you'll need

Start by crushing the graham crackers. You'll need 1.5 cups total

Toss the crumbs into a medium bowl and pour in the melted butter

And zest too. Don't skip the zest! Seriously. Buy a zester if you don't already have one.

In goes the sugar

Mix until moist the transfer to a greased baking dish

Press it into the bottom and 1 inch up the sides then bake for 10 minutes

Separate 2 eggs. You'll need the yolks only

Add in the sweetened condensed milk

In goes the freshly squeezed lemon juice

And more zest. Don't forget the zest. It gives you something the lemon juice can't. For real people!

Stir this until it's thickened

CAREFULLY fold in the fresh raspberries.

Pour on top of the cooled crust and bake for 15 minutes, or until just set

After it bakes, chill for several hours before serving.

They're tart and delicious and one of my new favorite desserts!

BLOGROLL