Lemon and Raspberry Bars

My friend, Mandy, recently sent me a website called www.foodgawker.com and let me tell you, I took gawking to a new level.  It is completely drool inducing, and really gets me excited to get cooking and baking!  It is a compilation of some of the best food pics out there.  The best part is that it links the picture to the blog, so you can easily get the recipe!  The recipe I kept going back to was for lemon and raspberry bars.  It was posted by a great blog called Live Love Pasta, and I will definitely be checking back often for new recipes and inspiration!

We had a little family picnic on Sunday, and I thought these would be the perfect end to the meal!  Luckily, I had the cutest little helper to make these!  My 2 1/2 year old niece, Claire, helped me crush the crackers and pour them into the bowl.  That did get a little messy more than once, but she did a great job.

The only adaptation I made was doing a bit more graham crackers, because we didn’t have an 8×8 pan so we used an 8×13.  I increased the crust to about 1 3/4 cups or maybe even 2 cups of the itty bitty gritty sweet crumbs.

Make these.  Tonight.  They are simple and amazing!

(I’m posting this with the original recipe measurements)

Crust

1 1/2 cups graham cracker crumbs (about 1 1/2 packs)

6 tablespoons salted butter, melted

1/4 cup sugar

zest of 1 lemon

Filling

2 large egg yolks

1, 14 oz can of sweetened condensed milk

1/2 cup fresh lemon juice (which will probably take 4 or 5 lemons)

1 tsp lemon zest

6 oz fresh raspberries

Preheat your oven to 350.  Spray your pan.  (Don’t forget this step.  I did, but luckily remembered before it went in the oven, so the crumbs went back in the bowl, sprayed and then back to the pan.  If you like to make a simple recipe take longer like I do, follow this step 😉 )Crush the graham crackers and put in a bowl.  Mix in the butter and lemon juice until all of the crumbs are slightly wet.  Press the crumbs into the greased pan and slightly up the side.  Bake the crust for about 10 minutes.  Remove and let cool.

Crack the eggs and place the yolk only in another medium size mixing bowl.  Add the sweetened condensed milk and stir until well combined.  Mix in the lemon juice and lemon zest until slightly thickened.  Gently stir in the raspberries.  Be careful not to break the raspberries, so you have the pretty pops of pink in the yellow and that the pink does not bleed into the bars.

Pour the filling over the graham cracker crust and smooth so it’s evenly covered.  Bake for 15 minutes, or until it’s just set (with no wiggle in the middle).

Cool to room temperature and then chill in the fridge for several hours.  I ended up freezing them for a bit to make sure that they really set.  I didn’t make them far enough in advance to get the right texture just in the fridge.

They were delicious!  A perfect sweet and tart summer dessert!

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