Fallen Souffle

It’s 9am. A blurry eyed man wakes from his long slumber. Shuffling his feet and attempting to not trip over 2 anxious dogs, he makes his way to the kitchen to let them out. While looking around he spots what looks to be a mirage. Could it be! Did my loving wife leave me the largest grilled cheese ever!? She is such a dear, she took one small square and left the rest for me to enjoy. What a wonderful way to start my day!

As he cuts himself a slice and opens wide in anticipation of this cheesy goodness he is somewhat surprised at what he has just put in his mouth. It’s quite tangy…a bit tart…this is not cheese! As he puckers his lips he realizes he has not just tastes a delectable cheese sandwich but in fact a citrus bar…lemon to be exact.

This is a reenactment of what Evan told me he encountered this morning. I had a craving for lemon bars last night and whipped up a batch but I had to chill them before cutting into them. Unfortunately I fell asleep too early to enjoy them so I tried one for breakfast and left the rest on the counter until I got home. Somehow the remaining uncut bars resembled a grilled cheese sandwich, in Evan’s head atleast. I can only imagine his face when he bit into them. I think they are quite nice but I think he was too shocked to appreciate them.

I revamped a recipe for lemon bars which made a whole 9×13 pan. Since my cravings are often short lived I wanted to make a smaller batch, and I was told by some of my fellow bakery workers that an addition of orange helps to balance the flavors. They were right, just a nice bit of zing! I made these in an 8×8 pan but I think the crust was a bit thick so I think a 9×9 pan would work better, plus you get bigger bars!

Try this out on a nice summer day (as it felt like in NC with 80 degree weather!) or when you are craving something a little tart.

Citrus Bars
Crust:
1 cup sifted all-purpose flour
1/2 cup confectioners’ sugar
1/2 cup butter, melted

Filling:
2 eggs
1 cup white sugar
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/8 cup all-purpose flour
1/2 cup lemon juice (or do a combination of lemon and fresh orange juice)
pinch of salt
zest from one lemon or orange

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Grease a 9×9 inch pan (not as necessary as the crust has a ton of butter in it. Mine just popped out without greasing)

2. In a medium bowl, stir together 1 cup flour and confectioners’ sugar. Blend in the melted butter. Press into the bottom of the prepared pan.

3. Bake in the preheated oven for 15 minutes, or until golden. In a large bowl, beat eggs until light. Combine the sugar, baking powder, salt and 1/4 cup of flour so there will be no flour lumps. Stir the sugar mixture into the eggs. Finally, stir in the lemon juice and zest. Pour over the prepared crust and return to the oven.

4. Bake for an additional 30 minutes or until bars are set. Allow to cool completely before cutting into bars. Top with more confectioners sugar if desired.

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