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| Sunny Orange Cream Bars |
I love orange and chocolate! OK that said, I always liked lime and lemon squares and wondered if I could do the same type of bar cookie with orange.
Decided to try this since I had extra orange juice and oranges from a previous dish. I also thought orange coconut crumbs would be a nice addition, even if it meant an extra step and careful oven watching. Originally, I was going to drizzle chocolate ganache on top as the crowning glory, but instead opted for a sprinkle of mini chocolate chips. If ganache works better for you, do it by all means. If pure orange is your bag, then leave out the chocolate. Likewise if you are not a coconut freak…I am, but I do realize it’s not everyone’s dish of tea.
Sunny Orange Cream Bars
Prep time
Cook time
Total time
Author: Judith Hannemann
Serves: 9
Ingredients
- 1¼ cup flour
- ¼ cup confectioner's sugar
- 1 stick (4 oz or ½ cup) butter, chilled
- ¼ tsp salt
- ⅔ cup orange juice
- 4 eggs
- ¾ cup sugar
- 2 tsp orange zest
- 8 drops yellow food coloring*
- 2 drops red food coloring*
- ¼ cup mini chocolate chips
- Crumbs:
- ¼ cup butter, melted
- ¼ cup sugar
- ½ cup flour**
- 1 tsp orange zest
- ¼-1/2 cup shredded coconut
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Spray or grease a 9-inch square baking pan.
- In a large bowl, combine 1 cup of flour, the confectioner's sugar, the salt and butter. Cut butter into flour mixture until it resembles coarse meal. Press into prepared baking pan. Bake for 20-25 minutes, or until edges begin to turn light brown.
- While crust is baking, prepare filling--in a medium bowl, combine the remaining ¼ cup of flour, the sugar, and the orange zest. Beat in eggs, 1 at a time, combining well. Beat in the orange juice and add food colorings (these are optional).
- Prepare crumbs--in a small saucepan, melt the butter. Add the sugar and orange zest. Add the flour and mix until it forms a nice, dense crumb--you may have to add additional flour. Add additional flour by tablespoons full until desired consistency is achieved. Stir in the coconut.
- When crust begins to turn light brown, pour filling over crust. Bake for 15 minutes (or until slightly set). Top with the crumb mixture and bake an additonal 15-20 minutes or until filling is set (it will feel firm to the touch in the center) and crumbs are golden brown.
- Remove from oven and top with chocolate chips. Cool completely, then chill before serving.
- Makes 9 large bars.
- *Optional
- **You may need more flour
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| Brighten a winter morning |
Yum
I love lemon bars too and have always wondered if orange would work. Looks like it's amazing 🙂
I always did to, Laura, so I tried it and they are great. Its a little extra work having to watch for the right time to put the crumbs on top, but it's well worth it. Enjoy!