Strawberry Lemonade Bars – Recipe
Cooking spray – 1 cup (8 oz.) unsalted butter, softened, cut into cubes – 1½ cups granulated sugar, divided – ¼ tsp. kosher salt – 2½ cups (about 10⅝ oz.) unbleached all-purpose flour, divided – 5 large eggs, at room temperature – 1 Tbsp. grated lemon zest plus 1 cup fresh juice (from 4 lemons) – 3 cups thinly sliced fresh strawberries – Powdered sugar, for serving
Preheat oven to 350°. Line bottom and sides of a 13x9-inch baking pan with parchment paper, leaving a 2-inch overhang over long sides of baking pan. Coat with cooking spray; set aside.
Beat butter and ½ cup of the granulated sugar in bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment on high speed until light and fluffy, 2 to 3 minutes, stopping to scrape down sides of bowl as needed. Whisk together salt and 2 cups of the flour in a medium bowl until combined. With mixer running on low speed, slowly add flour mixture to butter mixture, mixing until just combined, about 30 seconds, stopping to scrape down sides of bowl as needed. Increase speed to high, and beat until dough holds together, about 1 minute. Transfer dough to baking pan; press into an even layer. Bake in oven until edges are just beginning to brown, 18 to 20 minutes.
Meanwhile, whisk together eggs and remaining 1 cup granulated sugar until combined. Whisk in lemon zest, lemon juice and remaining ½ cup flour until no clumps remain. Let mixture stand, uncovered, at room temperature until foam appears on top, 2 to 3 minutes; skim off and discard foam.
Remove pan from oven. Pour lemon mixture evenly over hot crust; arrange strawberry slices evenly over top. Return pan to oven, and bake at 350° until filling is just set in center but still a little jiggly, 20 to 25 minutes. Let cool in pan on a wire rack, about 30 minutes. Refrigerate, uncovered, until fully chilled, about 45 minutes. Remove from pan using parchment paper overhang as handles. Cut into 12 bars, and dust with powdered sugar.
Serves: 12 Active time: 35 minutes Total time: 2 hours, 30 minutes