Citrus Zest Dessert Bars Recipes

Steps:

• For the crust: Line a 9-by-13-inch baking dish with parchment, leaving a 2-inch overhang for easy removal.
• In the bowl of a food processor, add the vanilla wafers, butter, granulated sugar, zest and a pinch of salt. Pulse until the mixture is a very fine crumb and is starting to clump together. Press the mixture into the prepared baking dish. Chill the dish in the freezer while you make the filling.
• For the filling: Add the cream cheese, condensed milk, confectioners' sugar, grapefruit zest, lemon zest and orange zest to a large bowl. Whip together with an electric hand mixer until completely combined and there are no clumps of cream cheese. Fold in the whipped cream. Remove the crust from the freezer and pour in the filling, using a spatula to smooth it into an even layer. Return to the freezer and freeze for at least 4 hours or overnight.
• For the topping: When the filling is set, remove the whole bar from the baking dish and place on a cutting board; removing the parchment. Decorate the top with the orange, grapefruit and lemon rounds, then carefully slice into bars. Serve immediately.

Steps:

• Shortbread base:
• Place a rack in middle of oven; preheat to 350°F. Line an 8x8" baking pan, preferably metal, with overlapping sheets of parchment paper, leaving at least 4" overhang on each side. Pulse flour, powdered sugar, granulated sugar, and salt in a food processor a few times to combine. Add butter and pulse until largest pieces are pea-size. Add egg yolks and pulse just until dough comes together in small clumps. (Shortbread can also be made by hand: Whisk dry ingredients in a large bowl, then work in the butter with your fingers before mixing in the egg yolks with a sturdy spoon.)
• Transfer dough to prepared pan (you may find it easier to form the dough into a ball first, instead of working with clumps-entirely up to you!) and press into an even layer. If dough is sticky, use a piece of plastic wrap between your hand and the dough. Prick dough with a fork in several spots (this helps it stay flat as it bakes). Bake shortbread until edges and top are golden brown, 24-28 minutes. Let cool.
• Candied grapefruit zest:
• While the shortbread is baking, use a sharp knife to remove zest from grapefruit in 2"-3" wide strips (it's okay to leave some white pith attached). Slice strips very thinly lengthwise; save fruit for another use. Combine zest and 2 cups water in a small saucepan and bring to a simmer. Drain immediately. Combine zest with 1/4 cup granulated sugar and 1 cup water in the same saucepan and bring to a simmer. Cook, stirring occasionally, until zest is translucent and softened, 15-20 minutes. Drain, discarding syrup, and toss zest in a small bowl with remaining 1/4 cup granulated sugar. Set aside until ready to use.
• Curd and assembly:
• Reduce oven temperature to 300°F. Vigorously whisk eggs, egg yolks, granulated sugar, and cornstarch in a large saucepan until smooth and sugar is mostly dissolved. Whisk in grapefruit zest and juice, lemon zest and juice, and vanilla. Set saucepan over medium heat and cook, whisking constantly and making sure to get into the corners of the pan, until curd begins to bubble slightly around the edges and thickens, about 5 minutes. Simmer very gently, still whisking, 30 seconds, then remove from heat. Whisk salt into curd, followed by butter a piece at a time, whisking to fully incorporate after each addition. Scrape curd into pan with shortbread and smooth over crust. Top with some of the candied grapefruit zest (you probably won't need all of it; snack on any left over!).
• Bake grapefruit bars until surface of curd is set (the center will still wobble slightly when pan is gently shaken), 20-25 minutes. Transfer to the refrigerator and chill until very cold, at least 3 hours, or preferably overnight.
• Just before serving, slice grapefruit bars into 2" squares and dust with powdered sugar if desired.
• Do Ahead
• Shortbread can be baked 3 days ahead. Store tightly covered at room temperature. Grapefruit can be candied 1 week ahead. Store airtight at room temperature. Bars can be baked 3 days ahead. Cover and keep chilled.

Steps:

• Crust:Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. In a large bowl, whisk together flour, wheat germ, confectioners' sugar, and salt. Add butter, and cut in using a pastry cutter, two knives, or your fingers, until the largest pieces of butter are the size of peas.
• Press evenly into a 12 1/2-by-17 1/2-inch rimmed baking sheet. Bake until golden, 20 to 30 minutes. Transfer to a wire rack until completely cool.
• Filling:In a medium bowl, whisk together, eggs, sugar, and flour. Add lemon and lime juice, lemon and lime zest, and salt. Whisk to combine. Pour over cooled crust.
• Bake until center is set, about 30 minutes. Transfer to a wire rack until completely cool. Cut into 2-inch squares. Bars can be stored in an airtight container at room temperature up to 2 days.

Steps:

• Heat oven to 180C/160C fan/gas 4. Line the base and sides of a shallow rectangular tin (about 23 x 33cm) with baking parchment, snipping the corners so that it comes up the sides of the tin. Tip the flour, sugar and butter into a food processor and whizz until it forms fine crumbs. Tip into the prepared tin and smoothly level with the back of a metal spoon, pressing it down lightly. Bake for 20-25 mins until pale golden.
• To make the topping, finely grate the zest from the lemons and orange and squeeze out all the juice. Measure the juice - you need 120ml. Whisk together the eggs and sugar using an electric whisk for 1 min, then add the citrus zest and juices, and whisk again briefly. Sift in the flour and whisk well to mix. Pour over the shortbread and bake for 15-20 mins until the topping has just set. Cool completely in the tin, then lift out of the tin using the lining paper. Dust thickly with icing sugar and cut into 3 down the length and 6 across to make 18 bars.

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 325 degrees F.
• Line 9" square baking pan with enough foil to overhang sides by 2", then coat with cooking spray.
• At medium speed, beat flour, sour cream, 3 tablespoons powdered sugar & butter until combined.
• Press dough onto bottom of pan, & prick with fork.
• Bake 20 minutes or until lightly browned.
• At low speed, beat eggs, whites, juices, zest, baking powder & 1 1/2 cups powdered sugar until combined.
• Pour over warm crust.
• Bake 40 minutes or until set.
• Cool on wire rack, & if desired, sprinkle with additional powdered sugar before cutting into bars.

Steps:

• Make crust: In a food processor, pulse flour, sugar, and salt until combined. Add butter and pulse until mixture resembles coarse meal, with a few pea-size pieces of butter remaining. Sprinkle with 1/4 cup ice water. Pulse just until dough is crumbly but holds together when squeezed (if necessary, add 1/4 cup more ice water, 1 tablespoon at a time). Do not overmix. Form dough into a disk, wrap tightly in plastic, and refrigerate until firm, 1 hour (or up to overnight).
• Preheat oven to 375 degrees. On a lightly floured work surface, roll out dough to a 12-by-16-inch rectangle (patch any holes well). Place in a 10-by-14-by-1-inch rimmed jelly-roll pan with dough going up the sides; trim overhang. Prick dough all over with a fork and freeze until firm, 20 minutes. Line dough with parchment paper, leaving overhang on all sides. Fill with pie weights or dried beans. Bake until edges are dry, about 15 minutes. Remove parchment and weights; bake until bottom is dry and flaky, about 10 minutes.
• Make filling: In a medium bowl, whisk together citrus zests and juices, granulated sugar, and eggs until well combined. Pour into crust and bake until custard is just set in center, about 15 minutes. Let cool completely in pan on a wire rack, 1 hour. To serve, dust with confectioners' sugar and cut into 18 squares.