Raspberry-Lemon Bars

           I love raspberry. I love lemon. Together? Perfection. So when I noticed an advertisement, of all things, with a recipe for strawberry-lemon bars, I thought: They made a mistake! Raspberry would be make this recipe absolutely perfect....
           One of the best things about cooking on a regular basis, is that I can usually judge wether or not a recipe will be good just from the ingredient list. Whereas I used to only make recipes that were rated by other users, or given to me from a family friend, I can now be the guinea pig and make things I have never tried before.
             The original recipe was from www.simplyhomemade.ca; I noticed an ad in my What's Cooking magazine - they were advertising Eagle Brand condensed milk, Smuckers Jam & Robin Hood All-Purpose Flour. Coincidentally, I had those brands and all the ingredients already, though of course I modified the recipe slightly. I added 50% more crust, as the original recipe made the bottom layer a bit thin in parts, and I am always afraid of a too-thin crust for cutting purposes. I accidentally added extra lemon without realizing it, but the results were great. I have included here the exact recipe I made, including my adaptations.


Enjoy!

Ingredients:
Crust:
2 1/4 Cups All-Purpose Flour
1 cup icing sugar
1/2 tsp salt
1 1/2 cups cold butter, cubed


Filling:
4 eggs
1 can (300mL) Sweetened Condensed milk
1/2 cup lemon juice
2 tbsp lemon zest
1 jar (250mL) Raspberry Jam


1. Preheat oven to 350F. Line a 9" x 13" baking dish with parchment paper, overlapping the longer sides for easy removal (important!)
2. Crust: Pour flour, icing sugar & salt in bowl of food processor fitted with metal blade. Pulse until blended. Add cold, cubed butter and process mixture until it looks like crumbs, about 20 seconds. Transfer mixture to pan and press firmly onto the bottom of pan.
3. Bake in pre-heated oven 15-18 minutes, until edges are golden.
4. Filling: IN large bowl, beat the eggs with a handheld whisk until they are well mixed. Add condensed milk and beat until fully incorporated. Whisk in lemon juice and zest.
5. Spread jam over hot crust. Pour filling over and bake for 24-28 minutes, or until filling has set. (Mine took 25 minutes exactly).
6. Cool bars in the pan on wire rack. When completely cool, dust with icing sugar and slice (I put mine in fridge for 3 hours).


Keeps for 1 week in fridge or up to 3 months in freezer.


Source:
Adapted from www.simplyhomemade.ca