Lemon-Raspberry Bars

I love all things lemon. One of my favorite meals is lemon pepper roasted chicken, and my favorite dessert is lemon meringue pie. Therefore, when I came across Two Peas & Their Pod’s recipe for Lemon Raspberry Bars, I knew I had to make it.

The recipe is fairly straightforward. I made a few adjustments to suit my own tastes (I like my lemon desserts to be more tart than sweet and graham cracker crusts to be more sand-like in texture), but feel free to use the original recipe if you want. It can be found here.

Ingredients:
2 large eggs
¾ of a can of sweetened condensed milk
½ cup fresh lemon juice
1 carton of fresh raspberries*
1 cup graham cracker crumbs
2 tablespoons sugar
4 tablespoons melted butter

Directions:
1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.
2. Combine graham cracker crumbs, melted butter, and sugar until the crumbs are fully moistened. Press the mixture into the bottom and sides of the pan. Bake for 10 minutes.
3. Separate the yolks from the eggs. You can use the egg whites to make yourself a healthy omelet later!
4. Combine the egg yolks, the condensed milk, and lemon juice until evenly incorporated. The “batter” should be smooth and golden color in appearance. Gently fold in the raspberries. Pour the “batter” over the crust.
5. Bake for 15-20 minutes.
6. Cool to room temperature, and then place in the fridge to allow it to firm up before you cut the bars. If you have any lemon juice left, sprinkle a few drops on top of the bars before serving.

That’s all there is to it! Each bite contains an explosion of tastes and textures- it’s tart, sweet, and buttery, sandy, smooth, and creamy all at the same time – it will tickle your taste buds and send your senses into overdrive. Enjoy!

*Note:
- These bars are delicious and highly-addictive. Consider yourself warned.
- If you’re not a fan of raspberries, blackberries work great as a substitute. I don’t recommend blueberries because they bleed too much color, and though the final result will still taste good, it will look “ink-stained” and really weird.