Aperol Spritz Bars

Aperol Spritz Bars
4.5 from 2 ratings
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Try this tasty dessert whether you're having a small dinner party during the winter or on the porch enjoying the warm weather in the summer.This recipe is by Stacey Ballis and was originally published in the Chicago Tribune.
Prep Time
30
minutes
Cook Time
60
minutes
Servings
24
servings
Aperol spritz bars
Total time: 1.48 hours
Ingredients
  • 1 3/4 cup unbleached all-purpose flour
  • 2/3 cup powdered sugar, plus more for sprinkling
  • 1/4 cup cornstarch
  • 3/4 teaspoon table salt
  • 12 tablespoon unsalted butter (1 ½ sticks), at very cool room temperature, cut into 1-inch pieces
  • 4 large eggs, beaten lightly
  • 1 1/3 cup granulated sugar
  • 3 tablespoon unbleached all-purpose flour
  • 1 tablespoon orange zest
  • 1/2 cup aperol
  • 1/2 cup prosecco or other sparkling wine
  • 2 tablespoon fresh orange juice
  • 1 1/2 tablespoon light corn syrup
  • 1/8 teaspoon table salt
Directions
  1. Spray a 13-by-9-by-2-inch baking pan, preferably with straight sides and corners, with nonstick spray.
  2. Line with parchment or wax paper, leaving the ends hanging over the sides so that you can use it as a sling to remove the pan of bars whole.
  3. Lightly spray the paper as well.
  4. Pulse the flour, powdered sugar, cornstarch and salt in a food processor until well combined.
  5. Add the butter; pulse until the mixture is pale yellow and resembles coarse corn meal, 10 to 15 short bursts.
  6. It will be sandy, and you’ll think it won’t press down, but have faith, it will come together.
  7. Sprinkle the crust mixture into your lined pan; press firmly with an offset spatula or the bottom of a measuring cup into an even, ¼-inch layer over the pan bottom and about ½ inch up the sides.
  8. Refrigerate, 45 minutes.
  9. While the crust is resting, adjust oven rack to middle position and heat oven to 350 degrees.
  10. For the filling, whisk the eggs, sugar and flour in a medium bowl to combine.
  11. Whisk in zest, Aperol, prosecco, orange juice, corn syrup and salt to blend well.
  12. Bake the crust until golden brown, 20-26 minutes. Remove from the oven.
  13. Stir the filling mixture to recombine and pour it onto the still warm crust.
  14. Bake until filling feels firm when touched lightly, 40 to 45 minutes.
  15. Transfer pan to wire rack; cool completely to room temperature, 1 to 2 hours.
  16. Run a thin knife along the edges of the pan, then use the parchment paper to help transfer the whole pan of bars to a cutting board.
  17. Fold the paper down and cut into 24 serving-size bars, wiping your knife clean between cuts as necessary.
  18. Sieve more powdered sugar over bars, if desired.
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