Blood Orange Bars

Blood oranges?  I had been curious FAR too long, and Anna and I had talked about them plenty of times.  Well, I finally got my hands on some and was racking my brain for things to make with them!  Anna and I have a cupcake recipe in mind with them, but I wanted to hold off of that so we could do it together.  I had thought about different dinners, desserts, etc and I kept coming back to the idea of reworking the traditional lemon bar.

A blood orange is beautiful when you cut into it.  It has a nice, deep color that is rather unexpected if you're assuming it's a regular orange.  The striking "tiger-like" strips are captivating.  Picturesque, really.

I must be honest...  It has never been one of my favorite desserts.  My family has a different type of lemon dessert that we call a lemon bar, and we all know what we mean when we say that amongst us Bryant-Tronset individuals, but when speaking with the "general public," I know what a lemon bar is to about 99.99999% of the world's population.

So, here is my first attempt, ever, at making a "traditional" lemon bar-like dessert.  :)  This recipe was adapted from the Joy of Baking lemon bar recipe.


Blood Orange Bars
crust:
   1 cup flour
   1/4 cup powdered sugar
   1/2 cup butter (room temperature)
   zest of one blood orange
   1/4 - 1/2 tsp salt
   1/2 tsp vanilla

filling:
   3/4 cup white sugar
   2 eggs
   1/3 cup blood orange juice (about two oranges)
   zest of one blood orange
   1/2 tsp salt
   1/2 tsp vanilla
   2 tbs flour

Preheat oven to 350.

In a stand mixer, combine the six ingredients for the crust and mix together just until blended.  In a greased 8x8 pan, press dough into bottom of pan and spread smooth.  Bake for approx 20 minutes, or until lightly golden brown.  Remove from oven and place on wire rack while preparing the filling.

In a bowl (or stand mixer), combine sugar and eggs and beat until fluffy.  Add juice, zest, salt, and vanilla and mix.  Lastly, add flour in and mix so there are no clumps of flour.  Pour over warm crust and return to over for about 20-25 minutes more.  Check on the cookies a few times, as you want to remove the pan from the oven once the center is no longer liquidy and can hold shape.  If you over-bake, you might get a rather funny texture...  :)  Remove from oven once again and allow to cool on the wire rack. 

One the bars have come to room temperature, sprinkle lightly with powdered sugar and serve!

What kinds of recipes are you curious about seeing on here?  Leave a comment!  :)