Omg. The heat. Where did it come from? What did we do to deserve this? How in God’s name does mother nature realize it’s Memorial Day Weekend and flip the switch like that? It’s amazing, her timing. Other than sweat, curse, strip, and drape yourself over the furniture like a rung-out wet rag, what can you do in thick, muggy heat like this? Oh yes….have margaritas.
I have so many good memories with margaritas: lunches spent laughing when I should have been in lab, afternoons with my best friends, days by my dad’s pool, pitchers with my mom, trips to the tropics in the midst of gray, sad winters. They’re happy drinks. They make you smile, always.
So, okay, these aren’t reeaaalll margaritas, but they are a perfect warm weather dessert. I actually made these for Cinco de Mayo, but as often happens when I take food to friend’s houses, we devoured them without a single picture taken. And they were gooood. And I wanted to share them. So I made them again this weekend. If you like lemon bars, you will love these. They replace the lemon juice with lime juice, tequila, and triple sec; just enough tequila for the flavor, but not so much that they seem boozy. Because I like my margaritas on the rocks with salt (this is no surprise to my friends; I heart salt), I added some seriously course sea salt to the crust, so that with each sweet bite you get a little crunchy saltiness. Oh it worked out so well.
Oh sweet, salty bars of happiness, where have you BEEN my whole life? Why have you been hiding? The best part about them? They’re best when cold, straight from the fridge; perfect for the first hot days of summer.
Margarita Bars
Adapted from Bluebonnets and Brownies. Serves 8.
1 c flour
1/2 c powdered sugar
1/2 t SUPER coarse salt
1/2 t kosher salt
1/2 c butter, melted
Filling:
2 eggs, lightly beaten
1 c granulated sugar
2 T flour
1/4 t salt
3 T tequila
1 T triple sec
2 T fresh lime juice
2 t lime zest
Powdered sugar, for dusting
- Heat the oven to 350°F. Grease an 8×8″ baking dish
- In a medium bowl, combine the flour, powdered sugar, and salt
- Stir in the melted butter
- Press the dough into the prepared baking dish and bake ~15-20 minutes or until the edges of the crust are lightly browned
- Reduce the heat to 300°F
- In another medium bowl, mix together the eggs, sugar, flour and salt
- Mix in the tequila, triple sec, lime juice and zest
- Pour the filling mixture over the warm crust and bake ~20-25 minutes or until set
- Lightly dust with powdered sugar and allow to cool completely
- Refrigerate until you’re ready to eat
