Strawberry Lemonade Bars

Strawberry Lemonade Bars

from baking bites

Crust:

1/4 cup sugar

1/2 cup butter - room temperature

1 1/2 cups flour

1/4 teaspoon salt

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Lightly grease 9x13.  Cream butter and sugar together, slowly add flour and salt until crumbly.  Press into pan.  Bake for about 17 minutes until edges are golden.

Filling:

1 cup fresh lemon juice

2-3 teaspoons lemon zest

1/2 cup pureed strawberries (about 3/4 cup of strawberries)

1 1/4 cups sugar

4 eggs

1/4 cup flour

1/2 teaspoon baking powder

1/4 teaspoon salt

Combine juice, zest, strawberry puree, sugar and eggs in food processor.  Puree until smooth.  Add flour, baking powder and salt.  Pulse until smooth.  Pour over hot crust.  Bake for 23-26 minutes, or until set.  Let cool, then store in fridge.

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{cooks note}

I do not have a food processor (just a mini one) so I used a hand blender to mix everything.  It worked great. I did puree the strawberries in my mini food processor because you want a liquid puree.  These are light and refreshing and a great twist on lemon bars.  

 The ingredients.

 The crust ingredients. You want the mixture to be crumbly.

Press into a 9x13 baking pan.

The crust after it has baked.

The strawberry lemon mixture before it has baked in the oven.

Sprinkle the tops with powdered sugar after cooling.  These are much better if they are refrigerated after cooling.  

I made these for a friends birthday and packaged them in a small linen box lined with parchment paper and tied with brown and white bakers twine.