Blood Orange Bars with Vanilla Bean Glaze

Thick, gooey Blood Orange Bars drizzled with a sweet and deliciously pink blood orange glaze.

I’ve been quite smitten with blood oranges lately. Not only is their fleshy center a stunning shade of deep pink, but they’re perfectly sweet with a hint of tartness.

Their sweet and slightly tart juice produces the most delicious Blood Orange Cosmo and Blood Orange Bourbon Fizz, so surely their juice would produce a delicious dessert.

These Blood Orange Bars are intensely gooey on the inside with a beautiful crackly exterior that provides a lovely crunch with every bite. It really is the perfect textural contrast.

And then there’s the sweet glaze. It’s made with 3 simple ingredients: powdered sugar, blood orange juice and zest, and vanilla bean paste. After the bars cool, the glaze gets generously drizzled over the sticky bars for an extra boost of blood orange flavor with a creamy hint of vanilla.

Did I mention that these bars are insanely easy to make? The batter comes together in one bowl using a whisk. There’s no need for heavy equipment, which results in very little clean-up. I know you guys are down for that!

Print Recipe

Blood Orange Bars with Vanilla Bean Blood Orange Glaze

These thick, gooey blood orange bars get drizzled with a sweet and creamy vanilla bean blood orange glaze.

Ingredients:

Crust

• 1 cup all-purpose flour
• 1 cup ground pecans
• 1/2 cup powdered sugar
• 1/2 cup butter, softened
• 1 teaspoon orange zest

Filling

• 4 large eggs
• 2 cups granulated sugar
• 1/2 cup all-purpose flour
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/4 cup fresh fresh blood orange juice
• 2 tablespoons orange zest
• 1 teaspoon lemon zest

Glaze

• 1 cup powdered sugar, sifted
• 2-3 tablespoons fresh blood orange juice
• 1/4 teaspoon vanilla bean paste

Directions:

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Line a 8-inch-by-8-inch square baking pan with parchment so that it overlaps on each side of the pan. 
2. For the crust: In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment or in a large bowl using a hand mixer, beat butter, powdered suga, and orange zest until creamy. Slowly add in the  flour and ground pecans. Continue to mix until just Press the dough into the bottom of your prepared baking pan. Bake for 20 minutes, or until light golden brown.
3. For the Filling: In a large bowl, whisk eggs to break the yolks. Add sugar, flour, baking powder, orange juice, orange zest, and lemon zest. Whisk until smooth. Pour evenly over the warm crust. Return the pan to oven and bake for an additional 25 minutes, or until the top is a light golden brown. Allow the bars to cool for at least an hour in the pan. Remove the bars from the pan by lifting on the two ends of the overlapping parchment paper. Using a sharp knife, cut the bars into thin rectangular pieces. 
4. For the glaze: In a small bowl, whisk powdered sugar, orange juice, and vanilla bean paste until smooth. Drizzle over cooled bars. Allow the glaze to set and harden before storing in an airtight container. The bars will stay fresh for up to 5 days. 

All images and text ©One Sweet Mess.

Whipping up one of my recipes? I wanna know about it! Snap a photo and tag your post with #onesweetmess on Twitter or Instagram. Seeing your creations come to life makes my day!