Key Lime Bars

So, how was Mother’s Day? Mine was extremely quiet and uneventful which sounds boring but was really nice! My oldest son called and we ended up chatting for over two hours. That usually does not happen but I guess we were both rather lonely for each other. He comes home the end of this month. Did I mention he comes home the end of this month? Not that I am excited. I always want to bake lots of things for him and feed him well but he is very much into grilled chicken breast/fresh green beans from the garden, gee thanks mom, I don’t want dessert. :/ He is busy creating muscles on his muscles.

Not so with my other children. The sweeter the better. Chris was always a little weird.

Did I mention he was coming home at the end of this month? ..Excited? Me? No, not at all, why do you ask?

Marc, on the other hand, has a sweet tooth the size of Alaska. Funny story…..We got married in 1980. I was rather naive about people’s eating habits because I grew up in a family where my mom did not cook, I was an only child, and I was an anorexic..I grabbed a lettuce leaf or a carrot every few days to sustain me. Marc, on the other hand, grew up eating. Lots. Snacks, cookies, pies, cakes….

SO…. we get married and I want to show my new husband that I am not just HOT I am a HOT cook. I made 6 dozen chocolate chip cookies, and a full dinner with dessert. I thought that the cookies would be a great snack for him for the week. He walked in the door and I put the platter of cookies on the coffee table and went back to finishing dinner.

When I called him for dinner he had finished half the cookies off. He then ate dinner AND dessert …and went back to finish off the cookies. My visions of being organized and planning ahead ..uh….crumbled. And that has been the way it is ever since. Cookies last no more that 1-2 hours here. Period. Leftover cake or pie? Right. You might as well hope to snow ski down the courthouse steps in downtown Dallas in July.

One of Marc’s favorite cookies is lemon bars. He likes the tangy-ness of them. When I came up with these slightly more tangy lime bars he was a happy, happy man. The secret to the taste in these is the just barely there whisper of rose-vanilla in the shortbread layer. Top these with some candied rose petals and they become impressive tea table fare.

If there are any left, which there probably won’t be..but IF, then just wrap them and keep them in the fridge.

Key Lime Bars

1 1/2 cups all purpose flour
1/2 cup powdered sugar
1 tsp rose water flavoring
1/2 tsp vanilla
3/4 cup unsalted butter at room temperature

4 eggs
1 1/2 cups sugar
1/2 cup key lime juice
1 tablespoon all purpose flour
1 tablespoon grated lime peel

Powdered sugar for dusting.Preheat oven to 350°F.

Combine 1 1/2 cups flour and 1/2 cup powdered sugar in large bowl. Add the butter, vanilla, and rosewater and cut in with your fingers until mixture resembles coarse crumbs.

Press mixture into bottom of 9×13x2-inch baking dish that has been buttered.

Bake until golden brown, about 20 minutes. Remove from oven.

Whisk eggs, 1 1/2 cups sugar, lime juice, 1 tablespoon flour and lime peel in medium bowl to blend. Pour into crust. Bake until mixture is set, about 20 minutes. Cool.

Cut into 24 bars.

Sift powdered sugar over top before serving.

Oh, and hey, did I mention my son was coming home the end of this month? No, I am not excited in the least…

Image:Marye Audet

Content:Marye Audet for Baking Delights