Hello friends! Happy New Year to you. Hope that you are feeling ready to face a new day in a new week in a new year! 2015 is a blank slate, and I’m excited to see what it brings. On the other hand, I know that this year is going to hold a few goodbyes for me. I have a few precious family members who are embarking on new adventures that will likely be taking them far away. So I’m soaking the good times up with them while I can. We never know exactly what the future holds, and I can count on the unexpected coming my way, both blessings and hardships. Looking forward to growth, change, learning as I go, laughter, tears, hellos, goodbyes, sorrows, and His tender mercies with me all the way.
I say the start of a fresh year calls for a fresh treat. The streets in our neighborhood are lined with lemon trees, and they are heavy with ripe lemons right now! I always love having a bowl of fresh lemons on the kitchen countertop, and whenever I have fresh lemons nearby, I can’t resist making a pan of lemon bars.
I also had a handful of fresh raspberries in the fridge, so I decided to try whisking them into the filling as well. I made this batch right before Christmas, and I loved the way they looked so festive with a touch of red and green.
Hope these sweet and tart treats put a smile on your face as you go about your day. To fresh starts and new beginnings!
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Raspberry Lemon Bars
- Prep Time: 15 minutes
- Cook Time: 15 minutes
- Total Time: 30 minutes
- Yield: 9 large bars or 18 smaller bars 1x
- Category: Dessert
- Method: Bake
- Cuisine: American
Description
Fresh raspberries are whisked into a sweet and tart lemon filling – all on top of a thick, buttery shortbread crust!
Ingredients
For the Crust
- 12 tablespoons butter, softened (1 1/2 sticks)
- 1/3 cup sugar
- 1 1/2 cups flour
For the Filling
- 3 eggs
- 1 cup sugar
- 3 tablespoons flour
- 3 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
- 1/2 cup crushed fresh raspberries
- powdered sugar for dusting
- lemon slices, whole raspberries, and mint leaves for garnish (optional)
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Prepare a 9 by 9 inch baking pan by spraying it with nonstick spray and lining it with parchment paper, leaving excess paper hanging over the sides for easy removal after baking.
- In the bowl of an electric mixer, cream together butter and sugar on medium low speed. Add flour and mix until a dough is formed. Press the dough into the bottom of the 9 by 9 inch baking pan. I use a small piece of parchment paper to press the dough so that it won’t stick to my fingers.
- Bake for 15 minutes at 350 degrees.
- In the meantime, make the filling.
For the Filling
- In the bowl of an electric mixer, whisk eggs and sugar until smooth. Add flour and mix, then add lemon juice and raspberries. Make sure the raspberries are a little bit crushed up by the whisk so that they can be evenly distributed through the filling. When the crust comes out of the oven, pour the filling over the crust. Return to the oven, and bake for another 20 minutes.
- Cool completely and then dust with powdered sugar. Use the parchment paper handles to lift the bars out of the pan to make cutting easier.
- If garnishing with lemon slices, whole raspberries, and mint leaves, do this just before serving.
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 1 Large Bar
- Calories: 376
- Sugar: 33g
- Sodium: 146mg
- Fat: 17g
- Saturated Fat: 10g
- Unsaturated Fat: 5.6g
- Trans Fat: 0.6g
- Carbohydrates: 52g
- Fiber: 1.1g
- Protein: 4.8g
- Cholesterol: 103mg
Rochelle Martin says
I’m pregnant and craving lemons of all things! So, I made this for after our family lunch today! Amazing recipe: not too sweet but still a lemon bar! And the addition of raspberries made it even better! Thank you so much for sharing!
Julie says
So glad you liked them Rochelle!
eunie says
Hi! Can I add lemon zest to make it extra lemony??
Nadia says
Hi I’m in the process of making your Raspberry lemon bars. I noticed that when making my crust it started to bubble while it was baking. I pierced the bubble and poured on the filling. My question is what would be the reasoning behind the pocket. I did decide to use a 9×13 pan.
Megan says
How far in advance can these be made?
Julie says
Megan, I think you could make these a day or two in advance as long as you garnish just before serving. Sorry I just saw your question!
Amanda says
I made these one day just because I wanted something lemon-y. I had a smaller dish which meant I had to cook it for about fifteen minutes longer and I would also suggest adding a little more lemon just to make it more flavourful (and that might be just me) but other than that they turned out amazing! My family and friends adored them and now they’re asking me to make them for their birthdays! I would highly recommend this recipe to anyone.
Julie says
Good feedback, thanks Amanda!
Annie Lane says
Hi Julie, can I use frozen Raspberry instead of fresh, very excited to try, thank you
Julie says
Yes you can, just be careful of the extra moisture they will have compared to fresh. Maybe you could sort of drain on a paper towel before adding them to the mixture. Enjoy!
Lauren Passarelli says
Could you suggest a different baking time for a 8×8 pan. It barely baked and I had to rebake it. It worked but whats your suggestion.
Julie says
I would need to do a little testing on that to give you a good answer. I’ll let you know if I remake them.
Liz says
I took it out after 20 minutes and the filling was still completely liquid. No idea where I went wrong, but I hope I don’t over bake it! I can’t wait for it to be finished, though. Your pictures look wornderful
Julie says
Hi Liz, sounds like they definitely needed more time. Hope it does work out for you. Thank you for your kind words and Happy New Year!
Kathy says
I have a wedding in May and I would love to make these. My fear is that I may not find sweet Rasberries in May to make them. Do you have any suggestions. Please help. 🙂
Julie says
Hi Kathy, I haven’t tested these with frozen raspberries, but they may work as well. Another possible idea is to try swirling a raspberry jam into the top before baking. Happy baking!
Sharon Thurston says
Hi Julie, could you please tell me if these raspberry-lemon bars should be stored in the fridge. We just made a batch and found the top to be runny in the middle, any ideas as to why this might have happened.
Julie says
I do keep them in the fridge and they firm up a bit as they chill. But it sounds like yours could have used a bit more time in the oven. It should be just about set when you take them out. Thanks for your comment Sharon.
Ilona says
👍🏽
Ilona says
Came out of the oven very watery… hoping letting it cook will thicken?
Ilona says
Came out of the oven very watery… Hoping that letting it cool will make it thicken???
Jessica says
I need to make these the day before I need them do I store them in fridge
Julie says
Keep them in the fridge and add the powdered sugar and garnish just before serving. Enjoy!
Annabelle says
Question….you stated press the dough on the bottom (nothing about pushing it up the sides) yet your photo of the finished pan looks like the dough is coming up the sides. Please explain. Thank you. It looks delicious.
Annabelle says
Question….you stated press the dough on the bottom (nothing about pushing it up the sides) yet your photo of the finished pan looks like the dough is coming up the sides. Please explain. Thank you. It looks delicious.
Julie says
Sorry Annabelle, just saw this question. As the dough bakes it just naturally forms a little raised edge on the sides. Good question!
Jenny Fafard says
Could these be frozen ?
Julie says
I haven’t tried freezing them before. They may get a little runny on top.
Bailey Troutt says
I made these for work and everyone LOVED them. They could not stop raving about them and they were all gone! Thanks for the recipe!
Julie says
So glad Bailey, thank you!
Brooke says
Hi! I am going to be making these for a party in June on a Saturday, how much ahead can i make them and garnish the day of? Could i make them tuesday maybe?
Julie says
I think 2 days ahead is ok – I’m just concerned your crust might get soggy after that.
Dana says
Hi Julie! I’m having some friends over for dinner this weekend and would love to serve these as dessert! However, one of my dinner guests is on a gluten free diet… Do you know how these would turn out if I made them with gluten free flour?
Julie says
Hi Dana, I’m sorry but I really have no experience baking with gluten free flours. Let me know how it goes if you decide to try them!
Marsha Maxwell says
So pretty! I was looking for a pretty way to present lemon bars for a bridal shower. This will be perfect!
Julie says
Glad you found these! Thanks Marsha!