Day 222: Orange Bars

Yield: 1 rectangle pan
Time (Start to Finish): 45 min

Ingredients:
1 stick butter, softened
¼ cup powdered sugar
1 cup flour
pinch salt
½ cup chopped walnuts

1 cup sugar
2 eggs
1/3 cup orange juice, fresh
1 Tbsp orange zest
2 Tbsp flour

powdered sugar

Directions:
1. Preheat oven to 350F
2. Take butter and mix with sugar, flower, salt until it forms a dough. Then add the nuts
3. Press into a greased rectangle pan so that it covers the entire bottom
4. Bake for about 10 min until it isn’t shiny anymore, but isn’t brown, just a little cooked
5. In a mixer or in a bowl with a whisk, combine the sugar with the eggs. Then add the juice, zest, and flour
6. Pour over the crust, through a strainer, and bake until it bubbles and the edges turn brown and the filling has set, about 20 min
7. When serving, sprinkle powdered sugar on top

Rating: 4 strawberries
Notes: Although the color is light, these bars are great. Not quite as tart as a lemon bar, which I like, but not sweet either. Do NOT leave out the zest. That is where most of the flavor comes from, and the color, especially when using fresh juice. The first one is always hard to get out of the pan, but the rest come out easy. These don’t travel well if you need to remove them from the pan, but if you just leave them in they are a great picnic, or party treat.