raspberry lemon bars

Sweet, tangy and decadent raspberry lemon bars! The crisp crust delivers a delicious tangy raspberry lemon custard that will stick to your fingers.

Raspberry Lemon Bars

unsalted butter (at room temperature (1 cup))

sugar

all-purpose flour

salt

lemon zest (grated)

lemon juice

cornstarch

raspberries

eggs

lemon juice (freshly-squeezed)

sugar sugar

Preheat oven to 350°F.

Lightly spray a 9x13-inch baking pan with cooking spray. Using a mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, cream the butter and sugar together on medium speed (about 2 minutes) until light in color. Add the lemon zest and mix for a few seconds.

Combine the flour and salt in a separate bowl. With the mixer on low, add the flour mixture to the butter until just mixed, about 1 minute. Place the dough onto a well-floured board and gather into a ball and transfer to the baking pan. Using your fingers, evenly press and flatten the dough into the baking pan.

Chill the dough for 15 minutes. Bake the crust for 15 to 20 minutes, until very lightly browned. Cool the crust in the baking sheet on a wire rack for about 30 minutes, until the dough is slightly firm. Keep oven heated to 350°F.

Crust

Put the sugar, cornstarch, and lemon juice in a small saucepan and whisk together. Add raspberries to the saucepan. Cook over medium heat, constantly whisking until the puree has broken down and thickened and has come to a bubble, about 6 minutes. Strain the hot thickened puree, discarding the seeds. Set the strained puree aside, at room temperature until ready to use.

Raspberry Puree

To make the filling, whisk together the eggs, sugar, lemon zest, and flour until combined. Gradually add the lemon juice and whisk until combined and pour over the crust. Add about a tablespoon-sized spoonfuls of raspberry puree around the entire surface of the lemon mixture. Quickly drag a toothpick across the surface to create swirls.

Carefully transfer to the oven. Bake for 30-35 minutes until the filling is set in the center. Let cool to room temperature.

Cut into squares or triangles and dust with confectioners' sugar.

Lemon Filling

These lemon raspberry bars have a thick buttery shortbread crust and are topped with a gooey, thick filling full of lemon raspberry flavor. They’re the perfect, easy tangy berry bar to make for spring and summer. They’re like lemon squares but have loads of raspberry flavor! You will need one cup of packed raspberries and about 3-4 lemons, depending on the size.

Lemon Raspberry Bars

lemon (zested (reserve juice

unsalted butter (softened)

vanilla extract

sea salt

all purpose flour (240 grams)

lemons (zested (reserve juice

all purpose flour (60 grams)

sugar (for topping)

Preheat oven to 355°F (180°C). Brush or wipe the inside of an 8” square baking pan with a thin layer of oil. Line with parchment paper: Cut a square of parchment paper a few inches larger than the baking pan. Place the parchment paper on a counter and put the baking pan on top in the middle. Cut one straight slit on each side of the parchment that will meet the corner of the baking pan. Place the sheet inside the baking pan, tucking the flaps in (see photo for reference).

In a large glass bowl or stand mixer, combine sugar and grated lemon zest. Rub together with your fingers until fragrant and moistened.

Add softened butter into the lemon sugar and beat with an electric mixer until smooth, creamy, and lightened in color. Scrape down the bowl so that it mixes consistently. Add vanilla and salt, beat to combine.

Sift flour into the butter mixture, and fold just until no more dry streaks of flour remain.

Transfer dough into parchment lined baking pan and spread it out in an even layer. Push a thin layer of dough up the sides to create a border or crust. This will help hold the filling in later on. Bake in the preheated oven for 20-25 minutes - until the edges are lightly golden brown and the top isn’t shiny anymore. Work on the filling while it bakes.

Shortbread Base

Rub the sugar and grated lemon zest with your fingers in a large non-metal bowl until fragrant and yellow. Don’t use a metal bowl to prevent a metallic flavor. Add flour and stir with a whisk to remove any lumps of flour.

Add eggs and salt into the lemon sugar mix and whisk very gently by hand - just until the eggs are smooth. Don’t overmix or you’ll get too many air bubbles.

Mash the defrosted raspberries and strain the seeds out by pushing the berries through a sieve. Do this into a separate bowl to make sure you have a ¼ cup of raspberry puree. If you have slightly less, add a bit of water to bring it up to ¼ cup. Add lemon juice and raspberry puree into the filling and whisk gently to stir.

As soon as the crust bakes, remove from the oven. Do not adjust the parchment paper, you don’t want the crust to detach from the sides of the paper and leave a gap. Immediately pour the filling on top of the crust. Remove large bubbles by poking with a toothpick or using a kitchen torch to gently heat the top.

Bake for about 17-20 minutes. It’ll be ready when the filling is completely set on the edges and slightly set in the middle. If you shake the pan vigorously, the middle will have a slight wiggle - it should NOT be liquid. Let it cool in the pan at room temperature for two hours, and then for one hour in the fridge. It will set as it cools. Remove from the pan by lifting up by the paper.

Use a sieve to sprinkle powdered sugar on top and cut into bars. Sprinkle powdered sugar on top right before serving so that it doesn’t have time to dissolve. Serve chilled or at room temperature.

Raspberry Lemon Filling

Made for a dinner party, what a hit! Everyone wanted the recipe!

I've made several of your lemon raspberry recipes and they always blow me away! I bought more raspberries than I needed for this recipe so I'm probably going to make the cookies next!

My main question is how do you get your raspberry fillings &amp; curds to stay red? Mine always turn out an orangey pink from being mixed with the yellow of the eggs. I always use fresh raspberries though- would using frozen make a difference in the color?

Tried it and it tasted amazing! If I were to make this again, I would beat the eggs separately and then pour it into the topping through a sieve to catch the weird pieces of the egg. They didn't incorporate well with the topping. Also- this dessert is really sweet. Adding whipped cream to the top was too much. Just fruit for garnish is more than fine.

Absolutely stellar recipe! So delicious, and just perfect served cold on a hot day (or any day). This was my first time making these, and they turned out amazing, despite some mistakes. They've been such a hit with my family that everyone keeps asking me for the recipe! I know I will be making these over and over again. And I'll be coming back to this recipe next time I make shortbread too because the crust was SO GOOD. Thanks, Mary!!

AMAZING!! I also switched the raspberries with strawberries (added a bit more too) during strawberry season and both ways are absolute PERFECTION!!! Remember to support your local farmers if you can!!

I absolutely loved this recipe!  The shortbread base was just as yummy as the filling. I love  the way you add the ingredients in small print below each step! Genius :)  thank you for sharing this yummy recipe.

I LOVE this recipe. I keep coming back to it! I have probably made these 5 times this year, and everyone asks me to make them for events!

These were great! Made them Mothers Day and everyone loved them. I ommited the raspberry because I forgot to buy them. They turned out PERFECT!

https://mediavine-res.cloudinary.com/video/upload/t_original/v1697943009/zigedtfkhkrmdtjhqdrr.mp4

These lemon raspberry bars have a thick buttery shortbread crust and are topped with a gooey, thick filling full of lemon raspberry flavor. They’re the perfect, easy tangy berry bar to make for spring and summer. They’re like lemon squares but have loads of raspberry flavor!

Top 2 raspberry lemon bars recipes from across the web

The most viewed raspberry lemon bars recipes by Recipe Cart users, saved from over 20,000 sites. Or, go to our Recipe Search Engine

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Raspberry Lemon Bars

Lemon Raspberry Bars

Top 2 raspberry lemon bars recipes from across the web

The most viewed raspberry lemon bars recipes by Recipe Cart users, saved from over 20,000 sites. Or, go to our Recipe Search Engineic_arrow_forward_48px

Top Tags

Raspberry Lemon Bars

Lemon Raspberry Bars

The most viewed raspberry lemon bars recipes by Recipe Cart users, saved from over 20,000 sites. Or, go to our Recipe Search Engine