This recipe is really easy to follow. I didn't have any limes on hand (and they're not in season at the moment...) so I used some lime juice for both the juice and the zest part. It worked out great! These are going to taste very similar to lemon bars, but more tart. I mean REALLY tart. I like the taste of tart things, but you will definitely want to eat these in small amounts. Also, I found that right after they cooled, they weren't as good as when I let them sit overnight. I definitely recommend waiting a day to eat these, ooooooo or even refrigerating them and eating them cold!! Why didn't I do that before??
Buttermilk Lime Shortbread Bars
Crust:
1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1/3 cup granulated sugar
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/2 cup (8 tablespoons) butter, cold, cut into 8 pieces
Filling:
4 large eggs
1 1/3 cups granulated sugar
1/2 cup buttermilk
1/2 cup lime juice, freshly squeezed
1 tablespoon lime zest
1 teapoon vanilla extract
Powdered sugar for dusting
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.
For the crust, in a medium bowl, combine the flour, sugar, salt and vanilla extract. Sprinkle the butter pieces over the top of the dry mixture and using a pastry blender, two knives or your fingers, cut the butter into the dry mixture until it resembles coarse crumbs. Pour the mixture into the bottom of a 9X9-inch pan and press the crust firmly to form an even layer. Bake the crust for 16-17 minutes, until lightly browned around the edges.
While the crust is baking, prepare the filling by whisking together all of the filling ingredients in a large bowl until evenly combined. Pour the filling mixture over the hot crust when it comes out of the oven and return it to the oven to bake for 18-20 more minutes, until the filling is set (it will not jiggle if the pan is shaken slightly).
Cool the bars in the pan completely before dusting with powdered sugar, slicing and serving. These bars also taste excellent after they have been chilled.
Here's the crust which, like so many other things when you cut in butter, looks like pie dough!
The filling is really going to look like scrambled eggs after you get everything mixed together. (you know, 'making an effort' scrambled eggs, not like my scrambled eggs which is just throwing an egg in a frying pan the way it is and adding some salt...)
This is what it looks like when it comes out of the oven!!! Mine cracked a little, there on the left, so I think I might've left it in a minute or two too long. It settled pretty well while it cooled though. Also I'm a genius and didn't take a picture of some cut bars. Just go check out Mel's page. She takes prettier pictures than I do anyways :)
Recipe source: Mel's Kitchen Cafe