I was browsing Tastespotting one day (which, by the way, is an excellent site for inspiration), and came upon a lovely photo of “Raspberry Lemonade Bars”.  I was instantly taken back to dinner scenes from my youth.  When I was growing up, we would travel to “the big city” to do some major clothing shopping before school started, or before the holidays.  Since we were in the big town, we got to eat out at a real restaurant… a place where you sat down (with menus and everything!), not just ordered off of a sign on the wall.  I discovered strawberry lemonade and raspberry lemonade one time, and I thought I was on the moon.  I can’t tell you how many refills of that stuff I would consume in one sitting.

Raspberry Lemonade Bars

Just reading the words “raspberry lemonade” brought back so many great memories of dining out with my family.  I knew I had to make the bars for myself.  With raspberry season upon us, this is the perfect time to make them!

Speaking of childhood and raspberry, am I alone in thinking that raspberry Kool-Aid tastes nothing like raspberries?  Quite honestly, I didn’t know I liked raspberries until I was much older, because I imagined them tasting like that awful drink.  I haven’t tasted raspberry Kool-Aid since I was a child, so maybe they have reformulated… I can still imagine that dreadful taste.  Raspberry Tootsie Pops weren’t much better.  I digress…

First, make the crust.

What You Need (Crust)

Beat together the butter, sugar, and salt.  Mix in the flour just until it’s all blended.

Ready to Beat Sugar + Butter Crumbly

Press this into an 8″x8″ pan, going up about 1/2″ or so on the sides.  I greased the pan, but Sophisitmom says you don’t even need to do that.

Pressed

Bake until light golden brown, and let cool.

Baked

Next up, the filling:

What You Need (Filling)

Some tips with the lemons… If the lemons were refrigerated, let them come to room temperature.  This will allow all the juice to be squeezed out.  Also, zest the lemons BEFORE juicing them.  It’s quite difficult to zest a squeezed lemon.

Mix together all but the raspberries.

Filling

Press the raspberries through a fine sieve to get the seeds out.  All you want is the delicious juice and pulp.

MushRaspberry Pulp

Mix this nectar into the rest of the filling.

Ready to MixMix

Pour into the pre-baked crust, and bake again until the filling doesn’t jiggle any more.

PourReady to Slice

Let them cool all the way, before dusting with powdered sugar and cutting into squares.

Raspberry Lemonade Bars
Adapted from SophistiMom

Crust:
9 tablespoons unsalted butter
1/4 cup white sugar
1 cup all-purpose flour
pinch of salt

Filling:
1 1/2 cups white sugar
3 egg whites
1 whole egg
2/3 cup freshly squeezed lemon juice (about 3 lemon’s worth)
zest of 2 lemons (about 2 tablespoons)
2/3 cup all-purpose flour
pinch of salt
1 1/2 cups raspberries (fresh or frozen: if frozen, thaw first)
powdered sugar

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Grease an 8″x8″ pan or line with parchment paper.  Beat together butter, sugar, and salt with a mixer.  Mix in flour, just until blended.  Flour hands and press dough into pan, covering bottom and up the sides about 1/2″.  Bake for about 20 to 25 minutes, until light golden brown.

While the crust cools, prepare the filling.  Begin by mixing together all but raspberries and powdered sugar.  Press raspberries through a fine sieve to extract juice and pulp; discard seeds.  Whisk raspberry pulp into lemon mixture and pour into prepared crust.  Bake about 30 to 35 minutes, until center is set.  Let cool completely before cutting into bars.  Dust with powdered sugar.  Store in refrigerator.

Makes 12 to 16 bars.