Raspberry Lime Bars

Summers growing up in Maine were exactly like you'd imagine but with less Stephen King: camping at Moosehead Lake, visiting grandparents Downeast for a lobster dinner, frigid beach swimming, and raspberry lime rickeys.

The refreshing soda would cool you down, no matter the August heatwave. I didn't grow up with old-fashioned drug stores and soda fountains, but we always found them at mom-and-pop shops and diners on our way to the next adventure.

As a baker, whenever I find something delicious I cannot help but wonder how I can make it into a dessert. I set to work on creating a bar with the optimum balance of raspberry to lime (with emphasis on the lime). The sweet-tart raspberry adds fruitiness without taking away too much zing from the lime. Served chilled like the soda, they're refreshingly tart and tempt me for a refill. 

What Is a Raspberry Lime Rickey?

The raspberry lime rickey underwent a few transformations to get to the soda we know now.

It was originally a simple cocktail made with bourbon, lemon, and seltzer popularly attributed to politician Joe Rickey in the 1880s. It quickly evolved, switching to gin and lime. 

Later, during prohibition, it transformed again into a mocktail, as the bite from the bitter lime made it taste similar to the alcoholic version. But even after prohibition ended, the refreshing soda won out. In New England, we sweeten it with raspberry syrup, giving it a fruity, sweet-tart flavor and a beautiful pink color.

Raspberry Lime Rickey In Bar Form

Raspberry lime rickeys are sweetened with syrup but still have a bright zing. I wanted to translate that into a bar with the same refreshing sweet and sour bite. I went for a bar similar to lemon bars with a shortbread crust and a raspberry lime curd filling.

The bars are loaded with lime juice and zest for a lip-smacking tart flavor. The sugar in the lime curd sweetens the bars, but not enough to fully tame the lime. I mix some raspberry jam right into the lime curd for a beautiful pink hue. A crisp and crumbly lime-scented shortbread crust provides the perfect base.

Tips and Tricks

These bars don’t require any special equipment, just mixing bowls and a whisk. There’s no separating the eggs or even cooking the lime curd on the stove. Here’s what I do to make the perfect batch each time:

• Zest the limes before slicing and juicing. You can save some of the zest for the garnish or make sure you have an extra lime to zest just before serving.
• Pour in the filling while the crust is hot. The filling will adhere better when the crust is still warm.
• After baking, I don’t notice the pulp from the lime juice, and even the raspberry seeds from the jam aren’t that noticeable. If you prefer a perfectly smooth filling, strain the lime juice through a fine-mesh sieve and use seedless raspberry jam.
• For clean slices, wait until the bars are fridge-cold. Run a sharp knife under hot water and dry it off before slicing. Wipe the knife clean and warm it up again between each cut.

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