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!
Lemon Raspberry Bars
Ingredients
For the crust:
- 1 1/2 cup graham cracker crumbs
- 6 tbsp salted butter, melted
- 1/4 cup sugar
- zest of one lemon
For the filling:
- 2 large egg yolks
- 1 14 oz can sweetened condensed milk
- 1/2 cup fresh lemon juice
- 1 tsp lemon zest
- 6 oz fresh raspberries
Instructions
- Preheat your oven to 350 degrees F. Spray an 8×8 inch baking dish with cooking spray. Set aside.
- In a medium bowl, combine graham cracker crumbs, melted butter, sugar, and lemon zest. Stir until graham cracker crumbs are moist. Press crumbs into the prepared dish, pressing the crust mixture one inch up the side of the pan. Bake for 10 minutes. Remove from oven and allow the crust to cool to room temperature.
- Once the crust is cool, combine the egg yolks and condensed milk until well mixed. Stir in the lemon juice and lemon zest. Stir until mixture begins to slightly thicken. Gently fold in the raspberries. Make sure you fold the raspberries in carefully so you don’t break the raspberries and end up with pink bars.
- Pour the lemon raspberry filling evenly over the graham cracker crust. Bake for 15 minutes, or until just set.
- Cool to room temperature, then chill for at least a few hours before serving. We found that the freezer worked best to firm them up. Cut into bars and serve. Keep bars in the refrigerator for up to five days.
