Blue Ridge Blackberry Lemon Bars Recipes

THE BEST LEMON BARS

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Line a 9-by-13-inch baking pan with foil, leaving an overhang on 2 sides; spray lightly with nonstick cooking spray. Set aside.
• For the crust: Add the flour, cornstarch, confectioners' sugar and salt to the bowl of a food processor and pulse 10 times until combined. Add the cold butter and pulse until the mixture looks like coarse sand, about 30 times. (The dough will not come together in one mass.) Sprinkle the mixture evenly in the prepared pan and lightly pat it down. Bake, rotating the pan halfway through, until golden brown around the edges, 20 to 25 minutes.
• For the filling: Combine the eggs, yolks, sugar, flour, salt and lemon juice in a medium saucepan. Whisk continuously over medium heat, occasionally scraping down the sides and edges of the pan with a rubber spatula, until simmering and thickened, 4 to 5 minutes. Remove from the heat and whisk in the lemon zest and butter until combined.
• Lower the oven temperature to 300 degrees F. Pour the filling over the crust and bake until just set, 12 to 15 minutes.
• Place on a wire rack to cool to room temperature, then refrigerate until cold, about 2 hours.
• Use the foil overhang to lift the bars from the pan. Remove the foil and slice into squares. Dust with confectioners' sugar just before serving.

LEMON-BLUEBERRY BARS

Steps:

• Heat oven to 325 degrees and line a 9-inch square baking dish with parchment paper so it hangs over the edges on all sides by a few inches. (You may need to use two pieces of parchment.)
• Make the crust: In the bowl of a food processor, pulse to combine the flour, confectioners' sugar, lemon zest and salt. Add butter and pulse until a crumbly dough forms, about 10 seconds. (Or mix dry ingredients in a bowl and use pastry cutter to cut in butter, clumping the mixture together in your hands until it holds together.) Press dough into prepared pan. Bake until light golden, 25 to 35 minutes.
• As crust bakes, make the curd: In a medium pot, whisk together the granulated sugar, lemon juice, egg yolks, whole eggs, cornstarch and fine sea salt until well combined. Place over medium heat and stir with a heatproof rubber spatula (or wooden spoon), making sure to scrape around the sides and edges of the pot, until mixture is simmering and thickened, 5 to 10 minutes.
• Bring mixture to a boil and let cook for about 30 seconds, but no longer than 1 minute. Immediately strain through a fine mesh sieve into a bowl. Stir in butter, lemon zest and lime zest, and stir until butter melts. Stir in blueberries.
• Pour mixture over crust, then stir to evenly distribute berries. Return to oven, and bake until blueberries begin to burst and curd starts to turn golden around the edges, 33 to 45 minutes. Transfer to a wire rack to cool to room temperature. Chill in the refrigerator until thoroughly cold before cutting, at least 3 hours. Dust lightly with confectioners' sugar right before serving.

ROSEMARY AND LEMON BLACKBERRY BARS

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Line an 8-inch baking dish with parchment paper, leaving an overhang on two sides.
• Combine 1/2 cup white whole wheat flour, oats, 6 tablespoons butter, brown sugar, 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract, and 1/4 teaspoon salt in a small bowl; mix with a fork to make a crumbly topping. Place in the refrigerator.
• Combine 1/2 cup butter and confectioners' sugar in a bowl; beat with an electric mixer until light and creamy. Add eggs and egg yolk one at a time, mixing well after each addition. Beat in lemon zest, rosemary, and 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract.
• Mix 3/4 cup white whole wheat flour, baking powder, and 1/8 teaspoon salt together in a separate bowl. Add to the creamed butter mixture in 2 to 3 batches, mixing well after each addition, until a thick dough forms.
• Spread dough in the bottom of the prepared pan. Arrange blackberries evenly on top. Stir crumb topping and sprinkle evenly over blackberries. Press down gently to pack topping down.
• Bake in the preheated oven until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean, 40 to 45 minutes. Transfer to a wire rack; let cool for 1 hour.
• Lift bars out of the pan using the parchment paper edges. Cut into 12 pieces using a long serrated knife.