ats
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I have been loving the whole “pie in bar form” this summer. It really just does make sharing much easier! Not to say I won’t be venturing into the pie-in-a-pie-dish soon (especially so I can cross a couple things off of my list), but for parties with lots of people enjoying dessert: pie bars are the way to go! I originally whipped up this recipe for the party that I took my fluffernutter bars and key lime pie bars to, but I wasn’t completely sold on them. Don’t get me wrong, they were delicious, but they were a bit too sweet for my liking, and I thought they needed some sort of topping– not quite a streusel but not a crust either. That’s why I have taste-testers, people (and I’m always looking for new tastebuds)!
This bar starts with a shortbread crust. One of my absolutely favorite food bloggers put out a cookbook in March and this crust is featured on her lemon bars. As I was perusing her cookbook one day, I made sure to mark the page, because the crust sounded so good. Once I tried it, I was in buttery love, and I actually didn’t feel I wanted to alter it at all (which doesn’t happen to me a lot). The only thing I changed about it was adding the lemon zest.
Blueberry Lemon Pie Bars
Prep time
30 minutes
Cook time
1 hour
Total time
1 hour 30 minutes
Creamy and sweet pie bursting with blueberries and citrusy lemon on top of shortbread crust. In portable bar form!
Yield: 16 bars
Ingredients
SHORTBREAD CRUST
1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, melted
½ cup granulated sugar (plus more for sprinkling)
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
½ teaspoon salt
the zest of one lemon, divided
2 cups all-purpose flour
FILLING
8 ounces cream cheese, softened to room temperature
2 large eggs
1 cup granulated sugar
1-5.3 ounce container lemon flavored Greek yogurt
2 teaspoons lemon juice
pinch of salt
½ cup all-purpose flour
3 cups blueberries (fresh or frozen-- if using frozen, do not thaw)
Instructions
Preheat oven to 350ºF. Line an 8″ x 8″ or 9″ x 9″ baking pan with foil. Leave an overhang on the sides. Set aside.
SHORTBREAD CRUST
- Stir the melted butter, granulated sugar, vanilla extract, salt, and half of the lemon zest together in a medium bowl. Add the flour and stir until combined.
- Reserve ¾ cup of the shortbread crust and place in the refrigerator or freezer until needed.
- Read Full Recipes >> freshaprilflours.com