Creamy Lemon Squares with Raspberries
Pucker up! These creamy lemon bars with a vanilla cookie crunch are sure to be a hit!
Servings: 16 bars
Ingredients
- ½ cup butter (1 stick), at room temperature
- ½ cup granulated sugar
- ¼ teaspoon vanilla
- 1 cup all-purpose flour
- 4 large egg yolks
- 1 can (14 oz) sweetened condensed milk
- ¾ cup fresh lemon juice, (about 4 -5 lemons)
- ½ cup fresh raspberries, washed and dried
Instructions
Vanilla Cookie Crust
- Preheat your oven to 350 F (180 C).
- Spray an 8 x 8 baking pan with non-stick cooking spray. Line the bottom of the pan with parchment paper, leaving the paper overhanging on both sides. Spray the paper with non-stick spray.
- For the crust, get out your electric mixer. You can also do this by hand, it will just take a bit longer. Add the butter, sugar and salt to the bowl and mix on medium until light, fluffy, and pale yellow. This will take 3 – 5minutes. Add the vanilla and mix until combined. Add the flour, and mix on low until the flour is incorporated.
- Press the dough into the bottom of the prepared pan and up the sides a bit. Prick the dough all over with a fork.
- Bake for 15 minutes until the crust is a light golden colour.
Lemon Raspberry Filling
- While the crust is baking, you can get on with making the filling. In a medium bowl, whisk together the egg yolks, lemon juice, and sweetened condensed milk. Tumble in the raspberries and stir.
- Once the crust is out of the oven, pour the filling over the hot crust and pop it back into the oven to bake for 25 – 30minutes. The filling will set up as it bakes.
- Remove the pan from oven and leave it to cool completely on a wire rack.
- Place the pan in the fridge for at least 2 hours until the filling is firm.
- Once the filling is firm, take a hot knife and run it around the pan to release the edges from the side of the pan. Use the parchment paper overhang to lift the bars out of the pan and place on a cutting board. Cut into 16 squares and dust liberally with icing sugar.
Notes
The bars can be stored in the fridge for up to 3 days.
Adapted from 'Creamy Lemon Bars' from Everyday Food: Great Flavor Fast by Martha Stewart, (Clarkson Potter, 2010).