These raspberry lemon bars are made with a buttery shortbread crust, tart raspberry lemon filling and a dusting of powdered sugar. If you are looking for a dessert with bright, fresh fruit flavor, this is definitely the one to try!
Raspberry Lemon Bars
We all know those classic lemon bars with a buttery shortbread crust, tart lemon filling, and a dusting of powdered sugar. But what if we gave those lemon bars a spin by adding raspberry!
Lemon and raspberry are a delicious combination. The sweet and tart flavors compliment each other perfectly.
To make these lemon raspberry bars, I use my classic lemon bar recipe with the addition of raspberry reduction in the filling for an amazing raspberry flavor and beautiful pink color. The buttery, crisp shortbread crust is the perfect base for the sweet and tart raspberry lemon filling.
These raspberry lemon bars are a great addition to your spring and summer dessert catalog! I think of them as raspberry lemonade bars! They are perfect for Easter, Mother’s Day, baby and bridal showers, picnics, or just because. Plus, they come together in no time at all!
Ingredients for Raspberry Lemon Bars
Shortbread crust
- All-purpose flour
- Powdered sugar
- Salt
- Unsalted butter: Room temperature, cubed butter.
Raspberry lemon filling
- Granulated sugar
- All-purpose flour
- Eggs: Large eggs, room temperature.
- Lemon juice: Fresh lemon juice is best. For this recipe, you will need the juice from about 3 lemons.
- Raspberry reduction: Raspberry reduction is made of raspberries that have been cooked down and pureed to make a concentrated raspberry sauce. Check out this blog post to learn how to make raspberry reduction. The only ingredient is frozen raspberries.
Additional ingredients
- Powdered sugar: Dust the bars with a bit of powdered sugar immediately before serving.
Tools & Supplies for Making Raspberry Lemon Bars
How to Make Raspberry Lemon Bars
These raspberry lemon bars are simple to make! There are two components to this recipe: the shortbread crust and the raspberry lemon filling.
Before you make the bars, you will need to make a batch of raspberry reduction. Check out this blog post on how to make it!
Here is the basic breakdown on how to make the bars!
- Preheat oven to 350° F. Prepare an 8×8 inch square baking pan with nonstick cooking spray and parchment paper.
- With an electric mixer in a medium bowl, mix together all-purpose flour, powdered sugar, salt, and cubed unsalted butter until it resembles coarse sand.
- Pour the crumbs into the prepared baking dish and press using a flat-bottomed measuring cup to form the crust.
- Bake the shortbread crust for 15 minutes. Remove from the oven and allow to cool while making the filling.
- Reduce the oven temperature to 325° F.
- In a large mixing bowl, whisk together granulated sugar, all-purpose flour, lemon juice, eggs, and raspberry reduction. Pour the raspberry lemon filling on top of the cooled shortbread crust.
- Bake the raspberry lemon bars for approximately 20-25 minutes until the filling is set and does not jiggle in the center.
- Remove from the oven, place the pan on a wire rack, and cool to room temperature. Cover the pan with plastic wrap and chill in the refrigerator for at least 2 hours.
- To serve, remove the bars from the pan and cut into squares. Add a dusting of powdered sugar immediately before serving.
Raspberry Lemon Bars Recipe Tips
Line the baking pan with parchment paper
The best way to prepare the 8×8 baking pan to make these bars is to spray a bit of nonstick cooking spray and then lining the bottom and sides with parchment paper sheets. Be sure that the paper extends up the sides of the pan so that once the bars are cooled, you can simply lift up on the parchment to neatly remove the bars from the pan.
Blind bake the crust
To ensure the crust remains crisp, we are blind baking the crust, which means baking the crust first without the filling. Bake the crust at 350 degrees F and then turn down the oven temperature to 325 degrees F to bake the filling.
Make raspberry reduction ahead of time
I recommend making the raspberry reduction ahead of time. You can store the reduction in an airtight container in the refrigerator for about one week.
Dust with powdered sugar immediately before serving
To prevent the powdered sugar from dissolving into the bars, sprinkle on the powdered sugar immediately before serving.
Storing and serving
Store the bars in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 5 days. Serve the bars chilled with a dusting of powdered sugar.
Click here to see a quick video on how to make raspberry lemon bars! Follow Cake Me Home Tonight on TikTok, Instagram, and YouTube for more recipe videos and baking tutorials!
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Raspberry Lemon Bars
Equipment
- 8×8 baking pan
- Electric hand mixer or stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment
Ingredients
Shortbread Crust
- 1 cup all-purpose flour
- ¼ cup powdered sugar
- ¼ tsp salt
- ½ cup unsalted butter cubed, room temperature
Raspberry Lemon Filling
- 1 ¼ cup granulated sugar
- 3 tbsp all-purpose flour
- ½ cup lemon juice
- ½ cup raspberry reduction click here for instructions
- 3 eggs room temperature
Additional Ingredients
- ¼ cup powdered sugar for dusting
Instructions
Shortbread Crust
- Preheat oven to 350° F. Prepare an 8×8 baking pan with nonstick cooking spray and parchment paper on the bottom and sides of the pan.
- In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment or in a large mixing bowl, combine all-purpose flour, powdered sugar, salt, and cubed unsalted butter. Mix on low speed until the mixture becomes crumbly.
- Pour the crumbly mixture into the prepared baking pan. Press the crumbs into the bottom of the pan using a flat-bottomed measuring cup to create an even crust. Bake the shortbread crust for 15 minutes. Remove from the oven and allow to cool while making the filling.
Raspberry Lemon Filling
- Lower the oven temperature to 325° F.
- In a large mixing bowl, whisk together granulated sugar, all-purpose flour, lemon juice, raspberry reduction and eggs until smooth. (The filling will be thin).
- Pour the raspberry lemon filling on top of the baked shortbread crust. Bake the bars for approximately 20-25 minutes until the filling is set and does not jiggle in the center.
- Remove from the oven and cool to room temperature. Cover the pan with plastic wrap and chill in the refrigerator for at least 2 hours. To serve, remove the bars from the pan and cut into squares. Add a dusting of powdered sugar immediately before serving, if desired.
Notes
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