Gluten Free Orange Bars Recipe

Happy 4th! I'm scuttling around, meeting up with my family. And eating many of these:

We got some beautiful oranges in June's co-op order. It's much too late to do anything with the peaches and plums that my friend retrieved for me at our Saturday morning pick up time. The peaches were perfectly ripe, sending just a trickle of juice down my chin with each bite.

But the oranges, sweet and unassuming. Not all showy with their fuzz like those pretentious peaches. After all, aren't oranges one of those "first alphabet" fruits everyone learns? That sit on everyone's table? Still, on top of gluten free shortbread, the fresh-squeezed juice bursts with sunshine. I thought these would be a great idea for my first week of Whip It Up. (8 weeks of trying new recipes, or...gasp...creating your own!)

Gluten Free Orange Bars
adapted from Better Homes and Gardens New Cook Book recipe for Lemon Bars

In your stand mixer, begin beating:

1/3 cup butter

add 1/4 cup sugar
1/3 cup almond meal
1/3 cup sorghum flour
1/3 cup sweet rice flour

Press this into the bottom of an 8x8, or 7x10 pan, and bake at 350 for 15-18 minutes. When you look at the crust, there will be holes in it, where the butter has created little pocks so the steam can escape. It should be light brown. Remove from the oven and set aside.

During the baking of the crust, add this to your stand mixer (you don't even have to clean the bowl!):

2 eggs
1/2 cup sugar
1 tablespoon potato starch
1 tablespoon white rice flour
2 teaspoons orange zest, finely grated
the juice of one orange, strained over a sieve to catch the seeds
a few squirts of lemon juice, for tartness
1/4 teaspoon baking powder

Beat for 2 minutes, or until it's really mixed up well. Pour this over the top of the hot crust. Bake at 350 for 20 minutes, or until the edges are brown and the top is set. Remove from the oven, and cool.

With your strainer, sprinkle powdered sugar over the top. Now isn't that just a sassy sweet treat? They are not as tangy as lemon bars, which I miss, but they are so fragrant. And that shortbread works very well to provide some crunch.