Blood orange bars

For the Crust

• 1 ½ cups all purpose flour
• ½ cup powdered sugar
• ¾ cup unsalted butter, softened

For the Filling

• 2 Tablespoons blood orange zest (1 orange)
• ½ cup blood orange juice (2 oranges)
• 1 cup granulated sugar
• 2 Tablespoons all purpose flour
• ¼ teaspoon salt
• 2 large eggs
• burgundy gel food coloring, optional
• ¼ cup powdered sugar, for garnish

Instructions

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Line an 8x8 pan with foil and spray with nonstick spray.
2. Mix together the flour, powdered sugar, and butter until a soft dough forms. Press evenly in the bottom of the prepared pan.
3. Bake the crust for 25 minutes.
4. While the crust is baking, add the zest, juice, granulated sugar, flour, salt, and eggs to a food processor or blender. Pulse until light and frothy.
5. If you want your bars to be bright and vibrant, stir in a little bit of burgundy gel food coloring until the color is the same as the inside of blood oranges. This is an optional step.
6. Once the crust is finished baking, pulse the mixture again and pour the filling on top of the hot crust. Bake again for 25-30 minutes. Remove and cool completely to room temperature.
7. Sprinkle powdered sugar on top before serving.
8. If you are not serving the bars the same day, cool and then refrigerate the bars. Blot the top of the bars the next day before adding the powdered sugar.
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