Lemon Berry Bars

Last night was the Finale of The Next Food Network Star. What better way to enjoy the crowning of a new star than by pretending to be a foodie star yourself? Keyword being "pretending".  Lately I've been scouring foodgawker  for new and interesting recipes and of course drooling over pictures, dreaming that some day one of my pictures will be accepted, and I will have my own foodgawker gallery. Someday. But until then, nothing is stopping me from trying out all those droolicious recipes. I think I just invented a word. :P

I came across these lemon-raspberry bars on foodgawker. They looked amazing and more importantly super easy to make. It seemed like the ideal thing to make for a hot summer evening and enjoy while watching the finale of my favourite food show.   They were adapted from  LiveLovePasta.

Leftovers Never Looked So Good!!

Ingredients:

Crust:
-  1 1/2 cups graham cracker crumbs
-  6 Tbsp melted butter

Filling:
-  2 large egg yolks
-  1/2 cup lemon juice  (makes it very lemony, reduce a bit if you don't want that much citrus flavour)
-  1 tsp lemon zest
-  One 14oz can sweetened condensed milk
-  8-10 oz fresh raspberries and blueberries combined

Directions: 


1.  Crush the graham crackers in the food processor. Preheat oven to 350F.

2.  Melt the butter and combine with the crumbs

3.  In a large mixing bowl,  mix the egg yolks and condensed milk till fully combined.

4.  Pour in the lemon juice and zest and stir till the mixture slightly thickens.

5.  Gently fold in the berries. Do not overmix or you will end up with berry pieces leaking!

6.  Spray the bottom of an 8inch baking dish with cooking spray so that the graham cracker crust doesn't stick. Trust me, this is an important step or you will end up with messy bars when you cut it up!

7.  Press the graham cracker mixture to the bottom of the dish creating an even layer with your fingers.

8.  Bake for 10 minutes.

9.  Remove and let cool to room temperature.

7.  Pour the condensed milk mixture evenly onto the graham cracker base and bake for 15 minutes.

8.  Cool on the counter till it reaches room temperature and then pop in the freezer for a couple  of hours before digging in!

Potential modifications for next time:


-  I would try a vanilla bean based mixture instead of lemon

-  Line the baking dish with parchment with a bit of parchment sticking out so you can pull out the entire thing onto a platter before cutting it. It would make for a much cleaner presentation.

- Mix in a Tbsp of nutella!

Any other suggestions?