Grapefruit Bars

I'm pretty sure that south is currently going through a week of PMS. One day, it's rainy and cold. Two days later, it's humid and sunny. Seriously, someone needs to give mother nature some chocolate to help calm her down so she can make up her mind.

It's dreary this Monday. Dreary. Sad. Depressing. Yucky. And while I don't mind the drizzling drops of rain, it does lead to a very slow and dark way to start off the week. And all this chilly weather has been going on long enough to have me pining for summer. I'm missin' the days of beaches and short shorts (although, not so much missing sixty year old guys at the beach in their tighty whities... I can pass on that). I find myself daydreaming about dipping my toes into the pool while enjoying frozen yogurt, or picnics by the lake with my favorite person. It seems like summer will never roll around, and with this constant teasing of off and on sunny/rainy weather, I'm craving the day spring presents itself at my door step.

Until then, though, I will have to make my own spring and summer.



I may not be breakin' out my bikini, but you might be tempted to if you're gonna make these grapefruit bars. Yesterday one of the nice ladies at my church brought a ton of citrus fruit that she had picked that weekend with her family. They were fresh, big, juicy, and all they needed was a good wash down and they would be ready for consumption. I'm not gonna lie, I was tempted to grab every single bag of fruit. And I probably would have. But God was watching. ;)

I used to dislike the taste of grapefruit This is probably due to the fact that when I was a kid, I saw my mom drinking it and I asked, "does it taste like orange juice?" She responded, "not really" and then proceeded to tell me she was on a grapefruit diet where all she did was drink and eat grapefruit and she'd lose weight. At the time I thought, "wow, that's dumb, I wouldn't try that"... but after she had left the kitchen and I was looking for something to drink, I decided to pour myself a glass and see what all this magical dietry belief was about. Now, mind you, I was a kid who was accustomed to all things sugar laden regarding fruit juices, so when I took a sip of no-sugar-added grapefruit juice, I promptly puckered up my lips, spit the vile concotion out into the sink and vowed that I would never go on the grapefruit diet and would much rather go on the oreos-and-milk diet. Now a days, though, I don't mind the taste. I think it's pretty good and reminds me a lot of lemon. And so, in hopes of coaxing spring and summer to come faster, I made these awesome grapefruit bars.

And I guess, if you happen to be on the "grapefruit diet", then TECHNICALLY you can eat these, since they have grapefruit in them...



But I don't think you'll see very good results. ;)

Grapefruit Bars
(Adapted from Crepes of Wrath)

INGREDIENTS:

1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour + 1/4 cup for filling

1/4 cup white sugar + 1 1/3 cup for filling

1/4 teaspoon kosher salt + 1/2 teaspoon for filling

1/2 cup cold butter, cubed

4 eggs

Zest 3 grapefruits

Juice of 1 grapefruit (about 2/3 cup)

Juice of 1 lemon (about 2/3 cup)

powdered sugar (for dusting)

DIRECTIONS:

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. In a medium bowl, combine 1 1/2 cups flour and 1/4 teaspoon of salt and set aside.

2. In a mixing bowl, cream together the butter and sugar. Slowly add in the flour and salt mixture until combined.

3. Press this mixture into a greased and/or lined 9×13 pan (I really suggest lining the pan with tin foil and spraying with Pam – this way, you can lift the bars right out of the pan when they’re ready to cut instead of having to angle your knife into a pan). Bake the crust for 15-20 minutes or until just turning golden on the edges.

4. While the crust bakes, combine the grapefruit and lemon zest and 1 1/3 cups of white sugar in a medium sized bowl and rub them together until the zest is incorporated into the sugar (this makes sure that all of the grapefruit and lemon flavor/oils from the zest is well incorporated into the sugar and filling).

5. Whisk or beat in the eggs and add the lemon juice. Add 1/4 cup of flour and 1/2 teaspoon of salt and whisk them in, too.

6. Pour the lemon filling over the hot crust and bake for 20-25 minutes or until the top is set and doesn’t wiggle.

7. Remove the lemon bars from the oven and allow to cool COMPLETELY before sprinkling with powdered sugar and cutting. Makes about 12-16 squares, depending on how large or small you cut them.