Rachael and I made these bars a few days ago. The crust is baked first, then the chilled orange curd is spread over the top. The photos do not do this dessert justice. The combination of the crisp crust and the orange curd is rich and delicious. Ray described these as “way too good,” meaning it would be easy to sit down and eat the entire plateful. The orange curd takes some patience, but it is well worth it. You can substitute lemon juice and lemon zest if you prefer a lemon bar. 

Please let me know if you try this recipe. I absolutely loved it and will be eager to hear how your attempt turned out.

Stay well. I’ll be checking back in with you tomorrow.

Glazed Orange Bars with Buttery Crust 

Servings 12 bars

Ingredients

Crust:

• 1 cup unsalted butter
• 2 cups all purpose flour
• 1/2 cup granulated sugar (I used 3/4 cup of maple sugar)
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1 teaspoon vanilla

Orange Curd Topping:

• 1/2 cup fresh squeezed orange juice 
• 1 1/2 teaspoon orange zest
• 1/2 cups + 2 tablespoon granulated sugar (I used 1/4 cup honey and 1/4 cup maple sugar)
• 4 tablespoons butter
• 4 large eggs yolks
• Pinch of salt 

Instructions

• Preheat oven to 350 F. 
• Line a 9×13” pan with foil or parchment paper and spray with nonstick cooking spray.
• Beat butter with a stand mixer until creamy, then add the flour, sugar, salt and vanilla and beat until a dough forms. (If you’re using a hand mixer it will take extra time.) Press the crust into the bottom of the prepared pan. Bake for 35 – 40 minutes or until firm.
  
• While the crust is baking, make the orange curd. 
• In a saucepan, beat the egg yolks and sugar until well-blended. Stir in the remaining ingredients except the orange zest. 
• Cook over medium-low heat, stirring constantly, until thickened and resembling a thin hollandaise sauce, which thickly coats a wooden spoon but is still liquid enough to pour. The mixture will change from translucent to opaque and begin to take on an orange color on the back of the wooden spoon. It must not boil or it will curdle. Whenever steam appears, remove briefly from heat, stirring constantly, to keep from boiling. (This whole process takes at least 10-15 minutes).
• When the curd has thickened, pour at once into a strainer. Press with the back of the spoon until only course residue remains.
• Discard the residue. 
• Stir in the orange zest and chill. 
• Once the crust is done and is cool, then spread the orange curd over it. 
• Cut into bars and serve.
• The bars are thin and crisp with a nice layer of orange curd on top. They are very rich so a little goes a long way.