Lemon Raspberry Bars

These lemon raspberry bars have a thick buttery shortbread crust and are topped with a gooey, thick filling full of lemon raspberry flavor. They’re the perfect, easy tangy berry bar to make for spring and summer. They’re like lemon squares but have loads of raspberry flavor!

If you love lemon raspberry like I do, make these lemon raspberry cookies and try this tangy, creamy raspberry curd recipe. 

🍋 Why you'll LOVE this recipe

• Tangy lemon & raspberries: This berry citrusy combination makes a tart and bright pink filling that's so refreshing.
• Thick gooey filling: The filling is super gooey but set, so it holds its shape well in bars.
• Shortbread crust: The buttery tender crust has lemon zest and vanilla for extra flavor. It's the perfect rich base for the tangy creamy filling.

📝 Key ingredients

These are the ingredients you'll need for both the shortbread base and the creamy lemon raspberry filling.

Read through for all the tips you will need for success!
Full steps and ingredients in recipe card below.

• Raspberries: Use fresh or frozen raspberries - I used frozen. Thaw the raspberries if using frozen.
• Lemons: You will need the juice and zest from about 3-4 lemons. DON'T use bottled lemon juice, it won't taste as bright and tangy as fresh lemons.
• Eggs: Whole eggs are used to thicken the filling and add a creamy richness.
• All purpose flour: Weigh the flour to get the most accurate results. If you don’t have a scale, measure properly by stirring the bag and spooning gently into a measuring cup. Scrape the excess off the top with the flat edge off a knife without packing it into the cup.

For a lemon version, try my lemon bars with graham cracker crust.

✔️ Ingredient substitutions

Gluten free: Substitute the all purpose flour with 1:1 gluten free flour. I haven't tried it but it should work.

Dairy free: Use a dairy free butter that comes in a brick. Don't use margarine because the shortbread won't turn out as well.

Other berries: You can experiment with other berries, like blueberries or strawberries. Pass them through a sieve to make a smooth puree and make sure you're only using a quarter cup of puree.

Try these lemon curd cookies which have a crinkle cookie filled with lemon curd in the middle for an equally tangy cookie.

👩‍🍳 How to make lemon raspberry bars

These lemon raspberry bars consist of two components: a buttery shortbread crust and the tangy, creamy lemon raspberry filling.

Crust step by step

Step 1: Preheat oven to 355°F (180°C). Brush or wipe the inside of an 8” square baking pan with a thin layer of oil. Line with parchment paper: Cut a square of parchment paper a few inches larger than the baking pan. Place the parchment paper on a counter and put the baking pan on top in the middle.

Cut one straight slit on each side of the parchment that will meet the corner of the baking pan. Place the sheet inside the baking pan, tucking the flaps in (see photo for reference)

Step 2: In a large glass bowl or stand mixer, combine sugar and grated lemon zest. Rub together with your fingers until fragrant and moistened. 

Step 3: Add softened butter into the lemon sugar and beat with an electric mixer until smooth, creamy, and lightened in color. Scrape down the bowl so that it mixes consistently. Add vanilla and salt, beat to combine. 

Step 4: Sift flour into the butter mixture, and fold just until no more dry streaks of flour remain. 

Step 5: Transfer dough into a parchment lined baking pan and spread it out in an even layer. Push a thin layer of dough up the sides to create a border or crust. This will help hold the filling in later on.

Step 6: Bake in the preheated oven for 20-25 minutes - until the edges are lightly golden brown and the top isn’t shiny anymore. Work on the filling while it bakes.

Filling step by step

Step 1: Rub the sugar and grated lemon zest with your fingers in a large non-metal bowl until fragrant and yellow. Don’t use a metal bowl to prevent a metallic flavor. Add flour and stir with a whisk to remove any lumps of flour. 

Step 2: Add eggs into the lemon sugar mix and whisk very gently by hand - just until the eggs are smooth. Don’t overmix or you’ll get too many air bubbles. 

Step 3: Mash the raspberries and strain the seeds out by pushing the berries through a sieve. Do this into a separate bowl to make sure you have a ¼ cup of raspberry puree. If you have slightly less, add a bit of water to bring it up to ¼ cup.

Step 4: Add lemon juice and raspberry puree into the filling and whisk gently to stir. 

Step 5: As soon as the crust bakes, remove from the oven. Do not adjust the parchment paper, you don’t want the crust to detach from the sides of the paper and leave a gap. Immediately pour the filling on top of the crust. Remove large bubbles by poking with a toothpick or using a kitchen torch to gently heat the top.

Step 6: Bake for about 17-20 minutes. It’ll be ready when the filling is completely set on the edges and slightly set in the middle. If you shake the pan vigorously, the middle will have a slight wiggle - it should NOT be liquid.

Let it cool in the pan at room temperature for two hours, and then for one hour in the fridge. It will set more as it cools. Remove from the pan by lifting up by the paper, dust with powdered sugar, cut and serve chilled or at room temperature.

🥄 Make ahead and storage

These lemon raspberry bars need to be stored in the fridge in a single layer to help the filling stay set. Although the bars are good to sit at room temperature for a few hours, the filling will start to soften up after a few hours.

You can bake the bars a day in advance and chill in the fridge overnight. Dust with powdered sugar right before serving. You can cut the bars ahead of time.

To store the lemon raspberry bars for even longer, freeze them in an airtight container in a single layer for up to 2 months.

✔️ Why it's important to raise up the edges of the crust

If you don't raise up the shortbread crust up along the edges to make a border, you risk the filling getting underneath the crust. Once it bakes, you'll have the filling underneath the crust as opposed to on top.

Make sure that once you bake the crust that you don't detach the crust from the parchment paper on the edges. Even if it looks like it collapsed a bit, leave it alone. If you move the parchment paper you risk creating a gap between the crust and parchment paper where the filling can get into.

If there's a small gap between the crust and parchment paper, that's ok! Some filling will spill into the gap but it shouldn't get fully underneath the crust bottom.

I also don't recommend baking the lemon raspberry bars without parchment paper because some filling leakage is going to happen around the corners. The filling is sticky, making it difficult to remove the bars from the pan without the help of parchment paper.

📖 Recipe FAQs

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📖 Recipe

Lemon Raspberry Bars

Mary

These lemon raspberry bars have a thick buttery shortbread crust and are topped with a gooey, thick filling full of lemon raspberry flavor. They’re the perfect, easy tangy berry bar to make for spring and summer. They’re like lemon squares but have loads of raspberry flavor! You will need one cup of packed raspberries and about 3-4 lemons, depending on the size.

4.93 from 13 votes

Print Recipe Pin Recipe Shop Ingredients

Prep Time 20 minutes mins

Cook Time 40 minutes mins

Chill Time 3 hours hrs

Total Time 1 hour hr

Course Baking, Brunch, Dessert

Cuisine American

Servings 16 bars

Calories 275 kcal

Equipment

• ▢
  eight inch square baking pan
• ▢
  parchment paper

Ingredients

 

US CustomaryMetric

 

1x2x3x

Shortbread Base

• ▢ ½ cup granulated sugar
• ▢ 1 lemon zested (reserve juice for filling)
• ▢ 1 cup unsalted butter softened
• ▢ 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
• ▢ ¼ teaspoon sea salt
• ▢ 2 cups all purpose flour 240g

Raspberry Lemon Filling

• ▢ 2 lemons zested (reserve juice for filling)
• ▢ 1 cup granulated sugar
• ▢ ½ cup all purpose flour 60g
• ▢ 3 large eggs
• ▢ ⅛ teaspoon salt
• ▢ 1 cup raspberries, packed into the cup defrosted if using frozen
• ▢ ½ cup lemon juice freshly squeezed from 2-3 lemons
• ▢ 3 tablespoons powdered sugar for topping

Shop Ingredients on Jupiter

Instructions

 

Shortbread Base

• Preheat oven to 355°F (180°C). Brush or wipe the inside of an 8” square baking pan with a thin layer of oil. Line with parchment paper: Cut a square of parchment paper a few inches larger than the baking pan. Place the parchment paper on a counter and put the baking pan on top in the middle.

  Cut one straight slit on each side of the parchment that will meet the corner of the baking pan. Place the sheet inside the baking pan, tucking the flaps in (see photo for reference).
• In a large glass bowl or stand mixer, combine sugar and grated lemon zest. Rub together with your fingers until fragrant and moistened.
  ½ cup granulated sugar, 1 lemon
• Add softened butter into the lemon sugar and beat with an electric mixer until smooth, creamy, and lightened in color. Scrape down the bowl so that it mixes consistently. Add vanilla and salt, beat to combine.
  1 cup unsalted butter, 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract, ¼ teaspoon sea salt
• Sift flour into the butter mixture, and fold just until no more dry streaks of flour remain.
  2 cups all purpose flour
• Transfer dough into parchment lined baking pan and spread it out in an even layer. Push a thin layer of dough up the sides to create a border or crust. This will help hold the filling in later on. Bake in the preheated oven for 20-25 minutes - until the edges are lightly golden brown and the top isn’t shiny anymore. Work on the filling while it bakes.

Raspberry Lemon Filling

• Rub the sugar and grated lemon zest with your fingers in a large non-metal bowl until fragrant and yellow. Don’t use a metal bowl to prevent a metallic flavor. Add flour and stir with a whisk to remove any lumps of flour.
  2 lemons, 1 cup granulated sugar, ½ cup all purpose flour
• Add eggs and salt into the lemon sugar mix and whisk very gently by hand - just until the eggs are smooth. Don’t overmix or you’ll get too many air bubbles.
  3 large eggs, ⅛ teaspoon salt
• Mash the defrosted raspberries and strain the seeds out by pushing the berries through a sieve. Do this into a separate bowl to make sure you have a ¼ cup of raspberry puree. If you have slightly less, add a bit of water to bring it up to ¼ cup. Add lemon juice and raspberry puree into the filling and whisk gently to stir.
  1 cup raspberries, packed into the cup, ½ cup lemon juice
• As soon as the crust bakes, remove from the oven. Do not adjust the parchment paper, you don’t want the crust to detach from the sides of the paper and leave a gap. Immediately pour the filling on top of the crust. Remove large bubbles by poking with a toothpick or using a kitchen torch to gently heat the top.
• Bake for about 17-20 minutes. It’ll be ready when the filling is completely set on the edges and slightly set in the middle. If you shake the pan vigorously, the middle will have a slight wiggle - it should NOT be liquid.

  Let it cool in the pan at room temperature for two hours, and then for one hour in the fridge. It will set as it cools. Remove from the pan by lifting up by the paper.
• Use a sieve to sprinkle powdered sugar on top and cut into bars. Sprinkle powdered sugar on top right before serving so that it doesn’t have time to dissolve. Serve chilled or at room temperature.
  3 tablespoons powdered sugar

Video

Notes

They need to be stored in the fridge in a single layer to help the filling stay set. Although the bars are good to sit at room temperature for a few hours, the filling will start to soften up after a few hours.

You can bake the bars a day in advance and chill in the fridge overnight. Dust with powdered sugar right before serving. You can cut the bars ahead of time.

To store the lemon raspberry bars even longer, freeze them in an airtight container in a single layer for up to 2 months.

Shortbread Crust Tips:

• Use a scale to weigh the flour for the crust for the most consistent results each time. If you don’t have a scale, measure properly by stirring the bag and spooning gently into a measuring cup. Scrape the excess off the top with the flat edge off a knife without packing it into the cup.
• Don't overmix the dough. Stop mixing as soon as no more dry streaks of flour remain or you'll be left with a tough crust.
• Make a border: Have at least a thin border of elevated crust dough around the edges. This will help hold the filling in and prevent it from seeping under the crust and becoming a mess before it bakes.
• Bake completely: It's ready when the surface stops looking shiny and the edges are golden brown.

Filling Tips:

• Don't overmix the filling. You don't want to add too many air bubbles because they will change the consistency of the filling and make pockmarks into the top after baking.
• Don't overbake: Or the surface will crack. They're ready when the edges are set and the filling is a little wiggly but isn't liquid. It will continue to set as it cools and chills.
• Cool completely: These bars will set completely when they are slightly cooled in the fridge for an hour. This makes them thick enough to cut while still being ultra creamy.

Nutrition

Calories: 275kcalCarbohydrates: 38gProtein: 4gFat: 13gSaturated Fat: 8gPolyunsaturated Fat: 1gMonounsaturated Fat: 3gTrans Fat: 0.5gCholesterol: 61mgSodium: 69mgPotassium: 84mgFiber: 2gSugar: 21gVitamin A: 407IUVitamin C: 16mgCalcium: 19mgIron: 1mg

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