10 picnic ideas for the Fourth of July

A festive twist to some summertime favorites will make your patriotic picnic complete. 

9. Lemon orange bars

Eat.Run.Read.
Sometimes a baking experiment becomes a new taste sensation.

By Mollie Zapata, Eat. Run. Read.

For the crust:

3/4 cups + 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
1/3 cup powdered sugar
1/8 cup cornstarch
1/2 teaspoon salt
6 tablespoons unsalted butter — (3/4 sticks) at very cool room temperature, cut into 1-inch pieces, plus extra for greasing pan

For the filling

2 eggs
1-1/2 cups granulated sugar
Zest from 1 lemon
Juice of 1 lemon + orange juice = 1/2 cup of liquid (i.e. pour lemon juice into a 1/2 cup measure, then fill it the rest of the way with orange juice)
1/2 cup flour
Confectioner's sugar, for dusting

1. Crust: Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Lightly butter a 9- by 9-inch baking dish.

2. If you have a food processor: Pulse flour, powdered sugar, cornstarch, and salt. Add butter and process to blend, 8 to 10 seconds, then pulse until mixture is pale yellow and resembles coarse meal, about three 1-second bursts.

3. If you're doing it by hand: Mix flour, powdered sugar, cornstarch, and salt in medium bowl. Freeze butter and grate it on large holes of box grater into flour mixture. Toss butter pieces to coat. Rub pieces between your fingers for a minute, until flour turns pale yellow and coarse.

4. Sprinkle mixture into pan and press firmly with fingers into even, 1/4-inch layer over entire pan bottom and about 1/4-inch up sides.

5. Bake for 20 minutes.

6. Filling: Whisk together the eggs, sugar, lemon zest, lemon and orange juice, and flour. Pour over the hot crust and bake for 30 to 35 minutes, until the filling is set.

7. Let cool to room temperature and slice into squares.

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9 of 10

Dear Reader,

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We have a mission beyond circulation, we want to bridge divides. We’re about kicking down the door of thought everywhere and saying, “You are bigger and more capable than you realize. And we can prove it.”

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