Grapefruit Curd Squares

in Citrus, Cookies and Bars, Fruit, Grapefruit, Lighter & Healthier

Grapefruit Bars

Surpriiiiise! It’s another grapefruit recipe! I hope you’re not tired of them. Because I’m not.

If you’re thinking that I must have an entire counter piled high with citrus, you wouldn’t be too terribly wrong. We’ve been cooking, eating, drinking, and baking with it a lot lately. It’s hard to pass up those dirt-cheap bags of citrus at the grocery store!

These grapefruit bars started out as an ordinary lemon bar, but as you can see from the picture above, (clears throat for Yoda voice) ordinary lemon bars these are not!

Grapefruit Bars

We swapped the lemon for Texas ruby red grapefruit, reduced the sugar a bit, and added zest to the crust and more zest to the filling. Because there’s no such thing as too much grapefruit.

What you get is a shortbread base infused with grapefruit and a thick, creamy layer of faux-grapefruit curd on top. It’s the topping that really sets them apart. Of course, had we made them with lemon, ordinary lemon bars they still wouldn’t be!

It’s refreshing, it’s bright, and it’s indulgent. It’s a dessert fit for any grapefruit lover. As confirmed by this grapefruit lover 🙂

Grapefruit Curd Squares

Ruby red grapefruit steals the spotlight from an ordinary lemon bar.

Ingredients

  • For the cookie base:
  • 1 cup flour
  • 1/2 tsp salt
  • 1/4 cup sugar
  • Zest from 1/2 a grapefruit
  • 1 stick (1/2 cup) butter, cold and cut into 8 pieces
  • For the filling:
  • 2 Tbsp flour
  • 1/2 cup sugar (I used half sugar, half sugar substitute)
  • Pinch of salt
  • Zest from 1/2 a grapefruit
  • 1/2 cup fresh-squeezed grapefruit juice (from the zested fruit)
  • 3 eggs
  • 3 Tbsp fat-free Greek yogurt
  • Powdered sugar, for serving

Instructions

  1. Preheat oven to 350.
  2. Spray an 8x8 baking pan with non-stick spray.
  3. Add flour, salt, sugar, grapefruit zest, and butter pieces to the bowl of your food processor and process for ~1 minute, until the butter has been completely distributed into the dry ingredients and there are no traces of powder left. (You can do this by hand, it will just take longer.)
  4. Spread mixture evenly into the prepared baking pan and press down firmly.
  5. Bake for 20 minutes, until the edges brown.
  6. Let cool for 20 minutes.
  7. Whisk together the flour, sugar, and salt in a medium mixing bowl.
  8. Whisk in the grapefruit zest, juice, eggs, and yogurt until thoroughly combined and lump-free.
  9. Pour over cookie crust and bake for 20-25 minutes, until just set - the center should jiggle but not be fluid when you gently shake the pan.
  10. Let cool in pan for 30 minutes and then run the tip of a knife around the edges of the pan to loosen.
  11. Allow to cool completely before cutting into 12 squares and serving dusted with powdered sugar.

Notes

Yields: 12 servings

Adapted from Williams-Sonoma

Estimated time: 2 hours

Nutritional Information
Calories: 164.4 | Fat: 9.0g | Fiber 3.0g | Protein 2.9g | Carbs 19.7g
Weight Watchers PointsPlus: 5

23 comments… add one
  • I just love baking with grapefruit at the moment, it’s hard to go back to plain old lemon!

  • These sound so tasty!!

  • I hae a tough time with grapefruit so I might have to try this with lemon. These bars look really good.

  • raquel@eRecipe.com

    refreshing grapefruit bars =)

  • Brilliant idea to use grapefruit!!!!

  • I love all of your uses of grapefruit! I haven’t had grapefruit in a few years now; I should probably buy some so I can make some of your delicious recipes! These bars look fantastic. I’d like them much better than the classic lemon bar.

  • holy crap. These sound and look freaking amazing.

  • Yum Yum Yum Yum Yum! I love grapefruit! Can’t get enough of it really. Literally, it is my favorite day when Sprouts has them on sale for 25 cents each! And when that glorious day comes, this recipe will be the first to put them to use.

  • Love this! I’ve never baked with grapefruit before (only eaten fresh or as juice), but I would love to try this!

  • Those look fabulous! I’ve been getting grapefruits and tangerines from neighbors who have trees full of citrus lately – might just have to make a batch of these!

  • Christina @ ovenadventures

    My daughter and i love grapefruit!! I’m gonna hit Costco for grapefruits and start making some I our fab recipes!

  • My winter has been SEVERELY devoid of grapefruit this year…maybe because it hasn’t gotten that cold? Hmm. Need to change that. With these bars. Obviously.

  • I’ve never used grapefruit in baking before, but these look fantastic! Thanks for sharing this.

  • Oh YUM! I love grapefruit and these look absolutely scrumptious! Thanks for sharing!

  • These look really pretty and I bet the citrus makes them even more heavenly. To be honest I have been seeing sooo many lemon recipes, so a grapefruit one is so refreshing! Beautiful photos.

  • Yum! I have a grapefruit bar recipe but this looks much better – the topping looks so creamy and rich!

  • I love these. Grapefruit is a wonderful citrus right now – I’ve bookmarked them to make them really soon!!! Beautiful photo too!!

  • You make the best grapefruit recipes! You really really do!

  • I love finding new ways to incorporate the abundance of citrus available right now! And these look quite tasty:)

  • Paula

    These look delicious! What a great way to use grapefruit for everyone to enjoy!

  • I have ten pounds of lemons sitting around my house and I’ve been making lemon bars, lemonade, lemon curd, lemon chicken. I’m almost lemoned out. So I’m super excited to see this grapefruit bar recipe! It looks amazing!

  • I have start baking with grapefruit. These look delicious!

  • Gloryglory

    Thank you so much for this recipe. As a new baker who loves grapefruit im super excited to try this. Quick question: i dont normally have greek yogurt around. Anything you might suggest to use instead that would still be good for this recipe? Thanks!!

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