Blackberry Shortbread Bars

Last weekend I had a bachelorette party to go to for my sweet friend, Tess. Each of us girls going were asked to bring a snack and I was assigned a sweet. I was so excited because my hubby has recently begun to complain about the number of treats I always have around the house and I now had a good excuse to make a dessert. If you can't tell I love baking. It is always so fun to see the finished product and it always puts a smile on people's faces. So with all that said, I looked for several days for the perfect sweet that wouldn't be too heavy (because we were going to be in bathing suits on lake austin), would be somewhat healthy (because I'm with a bunch of girls), and, ofcourse, would be delicious (because why waste your time if it's not going to be good!) That's when I decided to make Blackberry Shortbread Bars. Shortbread sounded light and not to heavy, blackberries are healthy for you, and, well, they looked so gosh darn good in the cookbook, Peace meals by the Junior League of Houston.  How could you not like the combination of two classics- fruit cobbler and a bar cookie? Apparently, everybody including myself enjoyed them, but who knows, they could have all been lying. So try it out for yourself. It makes for the perfect spring dessert.

Crust:
3 cups all purpose flour
1 1/4 cup sugar
3/4 teaspoon salt
1 1/2 cups (3 sticks) unsalted butter, chilled (the chilled part is very important. See below)
Filling:
2 eggs, whisked
1/2 cup sugar
3/4 cup sour cream
1/3 cup all-purpose flour
16 ounces frozen blackberries, thawed and drained

Crust: Preheat over to 350 degrees. Prepare a 9 by 13 inch baking pan with butter or cooking spray; set aside. Combine the flour, sugar, and salt in a food processor for about 45 seconds. Cut the butter into 1/2 inch cubes and process with the flour mixture for 30 seconds or unti lthe butter is evenly distributed but the mixture is still crumbly. Reserve 1 1/2 cups of the crust mixture to use as a topping. Press the remaining crust mixture firmly into the ottom of the prepared pan. Bake for about 25 minutes or until golden brown; allow to cook for at least 10 minutes before adding the filling.

Filling: Combine the eggs, sugar, sour cream and four in a large bowl. Fold in the blackberries. Spoon the fruit filling evenly over the crust and sprinkle the reserved crust mixture over the filling. Bake for 45 to 55 minutes or until the top is lightly browned. Let cool for at least 1 hour before cutting into bars.

Things I learned:

1. A food processor does not mean a mini processor like mine.
2. When the recipe says chilled, put the butter in the freezer for awhile before you use it or else the crust won't be crumbly and flaky.
3. Don't complain to your husband that he doesn't help enough in the kitchen when he politely turns down an offer to help you make a dessert for a girls weekend.
4. Enjoy being with friends and laugh a lot.

-Laura