This sweet orange bars recipe uses a buttery shortbread crust and a creamy orange curd. It’s a very easy recipe to make, and it slices and stores beautifully!

These orange squares use predominantly fresh oranges, but a little lemon juice is also added to enhance the orange flavor. Orange can be a little too sweet by itself, so lemon juice helps brighten this orange recipe up. This recipe is based on my Creamy lime bars.

The base is a soft shortbread that melts in the mouth. It is the perfect vessel to carry the orange curd layer. The great thing about this recipe is that you don’t need to precook the orange curd. You bake the base first, then whisk together the curd ingredients and pour it over the base. Bake again, and it’s done!

The ingredients

You can find the amounts for these orange dream bars written in the printable recipe card at the bottom of this post.

Fresh orange juice and zest – Regular oranges or blood oranges can be used. Blood orange bars will bring extra color!
Lemon juice- To enhance the sweet citrus flavor and makes a huge difference in flavor.
All-purpose flour – this is used in the shortbread base
Granulated sugar – sweetens the curd
Salted or unsalted butter – a key ingredient in the buttery crust
Eggs – this helps the orange curd filling set
Salt – enhances the flavor
Powdered sugar – For dusting

Equipment

Baking pan – Use a 9×9 inch ( 23 x 23 cm) square baking tray or a similar size.
Food processor
Digital scales – The cup sizes given are for US cups. Note that these are smaller than metric cup sizes. For best results, use grams.

Method

Shortbread crust layer

Step 1 – Preheat the oven to 350°F (180°C) and line a 9×9 inch pan with parchment paper. Leave a bit of an overhang so the orange bars can be lifted out later.

Orange zest, butter, and sugar in a food processor.

In a food processor, blend together the softened butter, flour, orange zest, sugar, and salt until it creates a soft dough.

Press the crust mixture into the bottom of the prepared pan. Bake this in the oven for 20 minutes until very light golden brown.

Orange curd

Whisk the flour and the sugar in a large bowl to eliminate flour lumps.

Step 2 – Then add the eggs, orange juice, zest, and lemon juice and mix until well combined, but not so much that it becomes frothy.

curd poured over orange base while making orange dream bars.

Step 3 – Pour this carefully on top of the hot crust. Bake again until the curd layer has set. Slightly shaking the pan will show if it has set or not.

There should not be a wobble to the curd. The bake time will change depending on your oven.

Serving and storing

Step 5 – Once baked, cool to room temperature on a wire rack, then refrigerate for at least an hour before slicing. You want it to be really chilled before slicing to get the slices extra clean.

Use a sharp knife to cut the bars into 16 pieces. Dust confectioners’ sugar over the top when serving, and garnish with a sprinkle of orange zest or an orange slice.

Store the bars in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 2 weeks, or freeze the citris bars for up to three months.

More easy dessert recipes

Looking for more delicious recipes or an orange dessert to make? Try these!