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!
PrintRaspberry Lemon Bars
Fresh raspberries are whisked into a sweet and tart lemon filling – all on top of a thick, buttery shortbread crust!
- 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
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
Came out of the oven very watery… hoping letting it cook will thicken?
Came out of the oven very watery… Hoping that letting it cool will make it thicken???
I need to make these the day before I need them do I store them in fridge
Keep them in the fridge and add the powdered sugar and garnish just before serving. Enjoy!
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.
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.
Sorry Annabelle, just saw this question. As the dough bakes it just naturally forms a little raised edge on the sides. Good question!
Could these be frozen ?
I haven’t tried freezing them before. They may get a little runny on top.
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!
So glad Bailey, thank you!
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?
I think 2 days ahead is ok – I’m just concerned your crust might get soggy after that.
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?
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!
So pretty! I was looking for a pretty way to present lemon bars for a bridal shower. This will be perfect!
Glad you found these! Thanks Marsha!
Julia, Can I replace the raspberries with strawberries just the same? Is there anything I would need to do to the strawberries? Thanks!
Hi Heidi, I think they would be just fine! Hope you enjoy!
These look amazing!!
Does one use salted or unsalted butter for the crust?
I used salted butter. Thanks for your question!
On the raspberry lemon bars do you use salted or unsalted butter?
I almost always use salted butter, just because it’s what I have on hand.
Hello!! My name is Kaylynn Batchelor. I made this recipe and when I added the raspberries to the mixture, it turned it pink! I didn’t know if I did something wrong or if there was a way to prevent it, but I wanted to ask if you knew anything!! PS, THEY WERE STILL DELICIOUS!! I’ll definitely be making these again!!
Well it’s 2020 and the year of social distancing, stay at home orders and how much can i bake! These are wonderful! Keeping these around for sure
Exactly! We are spending so much time in the kitchen too. Thanks for letting me know how these worked out for you!
Hi!
I made this recipe several times few years ago however, today when I tried it again, the dough/crust didn’t form! I mixed the softened butter with sugar for a minute and then added the flour and mixed with my electric mixer, but it looks more like a whipped texture then dough… What did I do wrong?
I’ve made this recipe several times, it’s always a crowd pleaser. The crust and filling are both delicious and a good combination. Not to mention easy to make. Only reason I don’t give it five stars is the crust is quite thick compared with the filling- I adapted the recipe for myself by making the normal amount of crust and then 1.5x of the filling so that’s it’s a bit more even. I baked that in a 9×13 instead of a 9×9 and it worked out great!
Can you use frozen berries?
Made these and they were delicious. Thanks!
Can you use frozen raspberries? (If thawed and drained.)
Good question! We haven’t tried this recipe with frozen raspberries yet, so we can’t say for sure how they’ll perform. Definitely let us know if you try them.