With their beautiful color and sweet citrus notes, these Tempting 2 Bite Blood Orange Bars are simply delightful. The old fashioned coconut shortbread crust provides a firm, but delicate base for this dessert.
This recipe is a variation of my recipe for Lita’s Lemon Squares, and although I love a good lemon bar, the blood orange juice used in this recipe is a welcome change. They are familiar, yet different at the same time. These bars are a little sweeter, with subtle berry notes – signature characteristics of the blood orange juice.
If you are able to make a batch of each when blood oranges are in season (December to April in the United States), they are simply beautiful side by side on a platter.
Jump to RecipeHow blood oranges get their color
Despite their sinister name, blood oranges are a perfectly harmless and a naturally occurring variety of oranges. Blood oranges were first cultivated in Italy, but you’ll find them grown in California, Texas and Florida in the US as well.
They tend to run a little smaller than other orange varieties, with a thicker, blushed skin. They may look like a regular orange from the outside, but slicing into one exposes their gorgeous variations in color.
Their unique flesh color, lower acidity and resulting berry-like flavor are a result of increased Anthocyanins levels in the fruit after they have been exposed to cold weather for a short period of time. Each piece of fruit responds uniquely to the cold, which produces the variations in color – from deep berry tones to light orange with a tinge of red around the edges. I love the variations in coloring that mother nature creates in these oranges.
Teasing out more color in these Tempting 2 Bite Blood Orange Bars
Although the blood orange juice is typically a vibrant red, it can vary from a dark, berry red to nearly orange for the reasons mentioned above. Even when the color of the juice is dark, the color of the finished bake can become muddied when mixed with the eggs and other filling ingredients. For this reason, you can add a few drops of food coloring to get a deeper pink or richer red color on the final bake.
This step is completely optional however. If you prefer a more natural colored bake, or you are preparing this recipe for someone who has a red food dye allergy such as any red food coloring containing Carmine, simply leave out the food coloring all together.
Tempting 2 Bite Blood Orange Bars
Course: DessertDifficulty: Easy24
servings15
minutes55
minutesIngredients
- For the crust
2 cups A.P. flour
2 sticks unsalted butter, chilled and cut into small pieces
1/2 cup confectioners sugar
1/2 cup sweetened shredded coconut flakes
- For the blood orange filling
1/4 cup A.P. flour
2 cups granulated sugar
4 large eggs, room temperature
Zest of one blood orange
1/2 cup fresh squeezed blood orange juice
1 tsp. baking powder
Pinch of kosher salt
6-10 drops of red food coloring, optional (see notes below)
- For finishing the squares
Additional confections sugar for dusting the top of the bars
Directions
- Prepare the crust
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
- Line a 9-inch x 12-inch pan with parchment paper so that the paper extends above the top of the pan. This will make it easier to remove the blood orange squares once they are baked and cooled. Set aside.
- Combine the 2 cups of flour, butter, 1/2 cup of confectioners sugar and coconut until a soft meal forms. Press dough into the bottom of the pan.
- Bake the crust until the edges are light brown – approximately 25 minutes.
- Prepare the filling
- While the crust is baking, prepare the filling by combining 1/4 cup of flour, 2 cups of sugar, salt and baking powder together.
- Add the eggs one at a time to the dry mixture, scraping down the sides and bottom of the bowl between additions to ensure the eggs are completely incorporated.
- Add the blood orange juice to the mixture and blend completely. Add 6-10 drops of red food coloring if desired.
- Baking, cutting and decorating the bars
- When the crust is ready, and while the pan is still in the oven – pour the filling over the hot crust and allow it to bake until it has set and just started to brown on top. Approximately 25 – 30 minutes.
- Allow to cool completely in the pan.
- Using a spatula for support, gently lift the parchment paper and transfer the entire sheet of blood orange squares to a flat surface. The sheet will hold its shape and you’ll be able to peel away the paper from the sides and bottom as you cut the bars.
- If you want clean edges for each bar, trim the edges of the entire sheet of blood orange bars first before cutting into portions. I typically cut each bar in either a 2-inch x 2-inch square or 1-inch x 2-inch rectangles when serving miniature desserts (as shown).
- Dust the tops of the squares with sifted confectioners sugar.
- Store in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to one week.
