About the Recipe
Every time I visit my grandmother she makes chess bars that melt in your mouth! I look forward to them each time. My Nana is a traditional southern cook, and she is at home in the kitchen. Truthfully, no one cooks as well as Nana, but she inspires me to try. After sampling a few batches (okay, several) of her famous chess bars, I had the idea try some variations. I was skeptical at first, but my first attempt was a success- Lemon Raspberry Chess Bars. I hope you enjoy, and perhaps your mother or grandmother will inspire you to try some new recipe ideas.
---Morgan A. Kay, Recipe Innovator & Test Kitchen Curator
Ingredients
For the Chess Bars:
3/4 Stick of margarine
16oz box of powdered sugar
zest of two lemons
1 box of duncan hines lemon cake mix
three eggs
8 ounces of cream cheese
For the Raspberry Coulis:
12oz bag of frozen raspberries
1/4-1/2 cup of sugar depending of preferred sweetness
juice of one lemon
Preparation
For the Chess Bars:
Step 1
Preheat oven to 325 degrees
Step 2
Melt the margarine and combine with cake mix and one egg, using a fork to mix.
Step 3
Pat mixture into a greased 13x9 aluminum pan.
Step 4
Using a mixer, beat together cream cheese, powdered sugar, remaining eggs, and lemon zest.
Step 5
Pour cream cheese mixture over the base in the aluminum pan.
Step 6
Spoon the raspberry coulis over the cream cheese mixture and swirl together, extra raspberry coulis can be reserved for a sauce
Step 7
Bake for 50-55 minutes
For the Raspberry coulis:
Step 1
Using a fork or blender, mash the raspberries
Step 2
Combine the mashed raspberries, lemon juice, and sugar into a sauce pan on medium heat.
Step 3
Heat until the berries have completely broken down and the mixture is simmering
Step 4
Allow to cool, then add to a blender
Step 5
Strain the mixture through a sieve