Grapefruit Bars are just like your favorite lemon bars with a shortbread crust and citrus curd, but with the sweeter flavor of pink or ruby red grapefruit.
Rating
4.36 stars (264 reviews)
Ingredients
1 cup all-purpose flour
¼ cup powdered sugar
¼ tsp salt
½ cup butter (room temperature (cut into 8 pieces))
1 ½ cups granulated sugar
¼ cup all-purpose flour
4 large eggs
1 Tablespoon grapefruit zest
1 cup grapefruit juice ((or combination or grapefruit + lemon juice*))
pink food coloring (optional)
Categories
Bars and Brownies
Steps
Preheat oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit. Lightly grease or line an 11x7-inch baking dish with parchment paper that overhangs 2-inches on both sides. (Do not overdo it on the cooking spray; just a very light coating.)
CRUST: Combine the flour, powdered sugar, salt, and butter in a food processor or stand mixer. Pulse/mix until mixture resembles fine crumbs that start to clump together. Press onto the bottom of the prepared baking dish. Bake at 350˚F for 18-20 minutes, or until golden brown.
FILLING: Prepare filling when crust is just about done. Whisk together the sugar and flour in a bowl. Add the eggs, one at a time, whisking well after each addition. Add the zest, juice, and 3 drops or so of food coloring (if desired). Whisk together.
Pour filling over HOT crust and bake an additional 20 minutes or until filling no longer jiggles, and edges brown.
Let cool completely in the pan, about 1 hour. Then refrigerate for at least 1-2 hours until cold. Lift bars out of pan with parchment paper for easy cutting and serving. Store leftovers in the refrigerator.
Nutitrion
Serving Size: 1 bar
Calories: 253 kcal
Carbohydrates: 39 g
Protein: 4 g
Fat: 9 g
Saturated Fat: 5 g
Cholesterol: 82 mg
Sodium: 134 mg
Sugar: 27 g
Unsaturated Fat: 3 g
Reviews
Nicole on 2025-03-23 (1 stars): Followed recipe to the Tee !! Turned out to be a liquid-y mess 😡😕( along with wasting 4 eggs and sugar !) I usually do my own desserts, etc .. but this looked really good and wanted to give it a go. If I could I would have done 0 stars.
Meribah on 2025-02-05 (5 stars): This may be one of the best dessert bars I've ever made! I read the directions carefully. I did use am 8x12 pan and it was fine. I used room temp butter (not microwaved) and cooked the crust for 22 minutes. I don't like overly sweet things, but when I was making the filling I could tell it wasn't sweet enough, and added another 2/3 cup of sugar. I also mixed until all of the sugar was dissolved. Resist the urge to cut into them until they have FULLY cooled and been refrigerated - that way the curd sets up all the way. The crust is so flaky and buttery, and the filling is so tangy and sweet - a superb combination! Thank you!
Patricia on 2024-12-23 (2 stars): The curd was way too liquid and soaked in and seeped under my crust creating a sticky mush with no layers. This also meant a lot of the curd stuck to the bottom of the pan when I took them out and they were pretty much ruined. Next time I will make a proper custard. I wouldn't recommend this method.
Ru on 2024-09-13 (4 stars): Oh man I have totally missed an (I think?) important point in this recipe, you should pour the filling in while the crust is hot!
I’m making this recipe for a big celebration and so I made the crust yesterday and the filling today. The crust was therefor cold. It took the bars a lot longer to set because of that, closer to 30-45 minutes. The top is completely discoloured :( I was sooo looking forward to these beautifully pink bars.
However the taste is still amazing!
I will definitely try this recipe again, the taste is great and the recipe itself is quite uncomplicated. But going through the comments it doesn’t seem that anyone else made my mistake, I would add this pointer to the notes just to warn future bakers ;)
Thank you for the recipe!
