when summer comes to a close, it is always a bummer for a whole host of reasons. bye bye long days, warm water and insane fresh produce. now that we are in the thick of winter, i'm missing those gorgeous summer berries, juicy watermelon and vine ripened heirloom tomatoes that didn't have to come from the other hemisphere. basically, i have the pretty produce blues. 

but the bright shining, light in these dreary months? winter citrus. oh yes, they come in all sizes and colors. sweet lemons, blood oranges, POMELOS! there are just so many choices. and sometimes while i'm at the produce store, i can't pick just one. so i end up with an abundance of choices and in need of a recipe to use them all up. 

lemon bars are a classic treat, but they become something stunning when you sub mixed winter fruit instead of just lemons. i've baked this recipe using everything from blood oranges, to limes, to grapefruit and every combo in between. use what you have on hand, what you like, or use what you think is prettiest. 

winter citrus bars
serves: 12-18 bars (depending on the size you want)
prep time: 10 minutes
inactive time: 30 minutes
cook time: 55 minutes
total time: 1 hour 35 minutes
ingredients: crust. .5 lb butter (2 sticks). .5 cup sugar. 2 cups all purpose flour. .25 tsp salt. 

filling. 6 large eggs. 2.5 cups sugar (3 cups if you use only lemons). 1 cup flour. 2 tbs citrus zest. 1 cups citrus juice (i used the 75% grapefruit, 1 lemon and 1 blood orange. served segments of fruit for garnish. .25 cup powdered sugar for garnish. parchment paper. 9 x 13 inch baking pan. 

in the bowl of a stand mixer with the paddle attachment, combine the butter and sugar. 

on medium speed, cream together the butter and sugar till well combined. 

turn the mixer down to low and add in the flour and salt. mix till combined and the dough starts to come together. 

line your baking pan with parchment and turn the dough out into the pan. 

use your hands to gently press the dough into the pan so it is in an even layer. 

lightly poke the crust with a fork and chill for 30 minutes. 

preheat your oven to 350 degrees f. 

bake your crust for 12-15 minutes until it just starts to lightly brown on the edges. remove it from the heat, and set on a cooling rack. 

while the crust is baking, combine the eggs, juice, zest, 2.5 cups sugar and flour in the bowl of a stand mix. 

whisk on medium speed till well combined. 

pour the filling onto the cooling crust and bake till set and no longer giggling. about 30-35 minutes. 

if you reserved citrus segments to decorate your bars, bake your bars off until almost cooked, about 20-25 minutes. remove, place your segments in desired design and place back in the oven for remaining bake time. 

once done, remove from the even and allow to cool to room temperature.
the easiest way to cut them is to first freeze them. once frozen, pull the parchment out of the pan and discard it.

slice the bars into desired size. 

dust with powdered sugar and serve. 

xo, a

winter citrus bars
serves: 12-18 bars (depending on the size you want)
prep time: 10 minutes
inactive time: 30 minutes
cook time: 55 minutes
total time: 1 hour 35 minutes
ingredients: crust. .5 lb butter (2 sticks). .5 cup sugar. 2 cups all purpose flour. .25 tsp salt.
filling. 6 large eggs. 2.5 cups sugar (3 cups if you use only lemons). 1 cup flour. 2 tbs citrus zest. 1 cups citrus juice (i used the 75% grapefruit, 1 lemon and 1 blood orange. served segments of fruit for garnish. .25 cup powdered sugar for garnish. parchment paper. 9 x 13 inch baking pan.
in the bowl of a stand mixer with the paddle attachment, combine the butter and sugar.
on medium speed, cream together the butter and sugar till well combined.
turn the mixer down to low and add in the flour and salt. mix till combined and the dough starts to come together.
line your baking pan with parchment and turn the dough out into the pan.
use your hands to gently press the dough into the pan so it is in an even layer.
lightly poke the crust with a fork and chill for 30 minutes.
preheat your oven to 350 degrees f.
bake your crust for 12-15 minutes until it just starts to lightly brown on the edges. remove it from the heat, and set on a cooling rack.
while the crust is baking, combine the eggs, juice, zest, 2.5 cups sugar and flour in the bowl of a stand mix. whisk on medium speed till well combined.
pour the filling onto the cooling crust and bake till set and no longer giggling. about 30-35 minutes.
if you reserved citrus segments to decorate your bars, bake your bars off until almost cooked, about 20-25 minutes. remove, place your segments in desired design and place back in the oven for remaining bake time.
once done, remove from the even and allow to cool to room temperature.
the easiest way to cut them is to first freeze them. once frozen, pull the parchment out of the pan and discard it.
slice the bars into desired size.
dust with powdered sugar and serve. 

these days, i'm hitting some sort of food store at least seven times in a week. some days, i'm in four or five stores. and at a certain point, it all starts to blur together. so a trip to the farmer's market is always a welcome treat. 

i'm always on the hunt for new food to play with. when i was in barcelona years ago, i remember their large outdoor market being filled to the brim with these dragon fruit. it was really early on in my foodie journey and i had no clue what to do with them. 

fast forward five years to the irvine farmer's market and this little guy. 

but of course, i've never actually used dragon fruit so it took a week of staring at it on my counter before i came up with something good. i needed something to really display the beauty of the fruit. enter deliciously simple cheesecake. together they make the perfect pair. 

dragon fruit cheesecake
serves: 10-12
prep time: 10 minutes
bake time : 45 minutes
total time: 55 minutes
ingredients: 1 dragon fruit. 1 cup all purpose flour. 1 cup finely chopped pecans. .5 cup butter, melted (1 stick). .25 cup packed brown sugar. 1 lb cream cheese (2 8oz packages). 1 cup sugar. 3 eggs. 1 tsp vanilla. parchment paper. spring form baking pan.

start by preheating your oven to 350 degrees. line the bottom of your spring form pan with a round piece of parchment paper. 

in a medium bowl, combine the flour, brown sugar, pecans and butter. mix it together until it forms a loose ball. 

place the crust into the spring form pan and spread it along the bottom and about an inch up the side.

poke the crust with a fork and bake it off until lightly golden. about 15 minutes. 

while the crust is baking, combine the cream cheese and sugar in the bowl of a stand mixer with a paddle attachment. mix on a medium speed until creamed together. 

with the mixer on a low speed, add in one egg at a time and then the vanilla. when everything is combined, turn off the mixer.
press all the ingredients down the sides of the bowl, and then mix again until well combined and smooth.

reserve about .25 cups of your cheesecake filling.

half your passion fruit and scoop out the flesh. place it in a blender and puree.

combine the dragon fruit and cream cheese filling in a small bowl. 

too small... 

our your filling into the baked crust. use your dragon fruit cream cheese filling to create your desired pattern. i used a spoon to place 1 inch sized drops around the cake and then used a toothpick to create hearts by swiping the pick through the middle of the circle. when you have your desired design. bake the cake till set, about 30-35 minutes. you will know it is done when the center no longer jiggles. 

allow the cake to cool to room temperature and store in the fridge until you are ready to serve. 

xo, a

dragon fruit cheesecake
serves: 10-12
prep time: 10 minutes
bake time : 45 minutes
total time: 55 minutes
ingredients: 1 dragon fruit. 1 cup all purpose flour. 1 cup finely chopped pecans. .5 cup butter, melted (1 stick). .25 cup packed brown sugar. 1 lb cream cheese (2 8oz packages). 1 cup sugar. 3 eggs. 1 tsp vanilla. parchment paper. spring form baking pan.
start by preheating your oven to 350 degrees. line the bottom of your spring form pan with a round piece of parchment paper.
in a medium bowl, combine the flour, brown sugar, pecans and butter. mix it together until it forms a loose ball.
place the crust into the spring form pan and spread it along the bottom and about an inch up the side.
poke the crust with a fork and bake it off until lightly golden. about 15 minutes.
while the crust is baking, combine the cream cheese and sugar in the bowl of a stand mixer with a paddle attachment. mix on a medium speed until creamed together.
with the mixer on a low speed, add in one egg at a time and then the vanilla. when everything is combined, turn off the mixer.
press all the ingredients down the sides of the bowl, and then mix again until well combined and smooth.
reserve about .25 cups of your cheesecake filling. half your passion fruit and scoop out the flesh. place it in a blender and puree. combine the dragon fruit and cream cheese filling in a small bowl.
pour your filling into the baked crust. use your dragon fruit cream cheese filling to create your desired pattern. i used a spoon to place 1 inch sized drops around the cake and then used a toothpick to create hearts by swiping the pick through the middle of the circle. when you have your desired design. bake the cake till set, about 30-35 minutes. you will know it is done when the center no longer jiggles.
allow the cake to cool to room temperature and store in the fridge until you are ready to serve.