I love lemon. If you’re a fellow lemon lover, you’ll love these bars too! The addition of fresh raspberries give them a nice summery touch. I stumbled upon a U-pick raspberry farm not 10 minutes from my house last week. So weird! I mean, I live in a suburb of Chicago, but it’s not exactly rural. Anyway, I was thrilled to be able to pickup a few pints of raspberries, fresh sweet corn and kale from this hidden little farm. I have made this recipe in the past, and it was delicious this time around too. I think I might make these as key lime raspberry bars the next time around…but sometimes it’s hard to stray when the original recipe is so good!
Lemon Raspberry Bars, adapted from Two Peas and Their Pod
Yield: Makes 16 bars
Cook Time: 15 minutes
Ingredients:
For the crust:
1 1/2 cup low-fat graham cracker crumbs
6 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted
1/4 cup sugar
Zest of one lemon
For the filling:
2 large egg yolks
1-14 oz. can fat free sweetened condensed milk
1/2 cup fresh lemon juice
1 teaspoon lemon zest
6 ounces fresh raspberries (I added a handful more)
Directions:
Preheat the oven to 350F. Spray a 8 by 8 inch baking dish with cooking spray. Set aside.
In a medium bowl, combine the graham cracker crumbs, melted butter, sugar, and lemon zest. Stir until graham cracker crumbs are moist. Press crumbs into the prepared pan, pressing the crust mixture one inch up the side of the pan. Bake for 10 minutes. Remove from oven and allow 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. Fold carefully so you don’t break the raspberries.
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 one hour before serving. Cut into bars and serve. Keep bars in the refrigerator-up to five days.
*Note-use fresh raspberries and make sure you gently fold the berries into the lemon filling or you will have pink bars.
