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Fruit Salad
Ali Slagle
380 ratings with an average rating of 4 out of 5 stars
380
20 minutes
Updated July 23, 2024
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Heat the oven to 350 degrees. Lightly grease a 9-inch square baking pan with butter (or use the wrapper from your stick of butter). Line the buttered pan with parchment, leaving an overhang on two sides. (This will help you pull the bars out of the pan easily.)
Prepare the crust: In a food processor, pulse the saltines until ground like coarse sand. (Alternatively, place them in a zip-top bag and use a rolling pin to crush them.) It’s OK if there are a few larger pieces. Add the melted butter, sugar and salt, and pulse a few more times until all the crumbs are evenly saturated (or mix to combine in a medium bowl). Pour the mixture into the lined pan, press into an even layer and freeze for about 15 minutes.
After the crust has chilled, bake it until fragrant and golden brown, about 15 to 18 minutes.
While the crust cools, make the filling: In a liquid measuring cup or small bowl, combine the lime zest, lime juice, tequila, orange liqueur and salt.
In a medium bowl, whisk together the yolks and sweetened condensed milk. Add the tequila-lime mixture to the yolk mixture, whisk to combine, then pour into the prepared crust. (It’s OK if the crust is not yet completely cool.) You may be tempted to prepare the curd earlier, but don’t do so more than 10 minutes before baking, as the lime juice will start to thicken it, which could affect the bake.
Bake 15 to 17 minutes until the curd is set around the edges and slightly jiggly in the center.
Transfer to a rack to cool slightly, then freeze for at least 2 hours.
After freezing, remove the bars from the pan using the parchment paper overhang and transfer to a cutting board. Sprinkle with flaky salt, cut into 16 bars and serve right away. Store leftovers in the freezer. Cheers!
These boozy bars are unique and a crowd pleaser. They are definitely tequila-forward, very true to the flavor of a Cadillac margarita. While delicious and easy to prepare, they unfortunately get very soft at room temperature (68°F in air conditioned home) and best kept in the freezer or in the fridge.
No need for a food processor or zip lock bag to grind the saltines. I crushed them inside the sleeve the crackers come in--first with my fingers, and then with a heavy pestle to press further. The bag held up nicely until they were fully crushed, and I had fewer dishes to wash :)
I brought these to a party and they were a huge hit! I made the recipe exactly as written, sprinkling the tops with more lime zest and Maldon salt. The saltine crust is *everything.* The filling is pretty soft so keeping them frozen works best, but they did okay sitting out on the table for an hour also.
WOW! Delicious, taste just like a margarita! I took someone’s advice and mixed the flaky salt with lime zest for the topping and that was a hit. Made them in cupcake tins-baking time for the crust was the same and a few minutes less for the curd. Easy and will make again.
These bars taste so good, and were a big hit with neighbors. Adjustments: omitted the 1 t salt from the crust; added 1.5 t of pectin to the filling for firmness (worked perfectly); added zest on top of the bars, too.
Happy to report that if all you’ve got is an 8x8 pan, you can still make these AND they will still be delicious. We baked them a few minutes longer to accommodate the difference in pan size, and they turned out just fine.
I made a double batch of this - one with alcohol one without for my kids. The one with alcohol I used Cointreau since I had it and that worked well. They’re delicious and you can adjust the amount of salt you want on each bar. They didn’t taste as boozy as some described but you can taste the tequila just like a margarita. For the non-alcoholic version I replaced the alcohol with orange juice and that worked just fine. Both versions are best coming from the freezer.
Does cooking these bars cook out the alcohol?
We make these but with a pretzel and butter crust.
I've made these for years but use pretzels instead of saltines, it's divine.
The orange liqueur is part of the true-to-a-margarita flavor, so it depends on how interested you are in mimicking that flavor. If veritable margarita-ness isn't a priority, you could sub an equal quantity of orange juice or omit it entirely. If you want the full effect, it's worth picking up a bottle. If you like margaritas, you'll find a use for the rest of it!
To make them dairy free, substitute sweetened condensed coconut milk. A good health food store should carry it.
These were delicious, even with the cheap tequila. More cookie recipes I’m not allowed to share with my kid, please.
And then you can have the lime with the coconut... sounds like a good combo!
No. Please see this Wikipedia link; https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cooking_with_alcohol#Alcohol_in_finished_food
Has anyone successfully used graham crackers for the crust instead of saltines?
How could one make this gluten free? I don’t know of any gf saltine brands.
You can also use NA tequila such as Almave or FreeSpirits and DHOS Orange or Lyres for and alternative.
I'm willing to bet that the comments here complaining of saltiness are using Morton kosher salt instead of Diamond Crystal. I'm usually pretty sensitive to salt, and these were just as salty as a good margarita, which was the goal!
Great flavor. Made in 8x8 pan without problem. Didn’t like the need to keep in the freezer.
I recommend topping with a sprinkle of Tajin!
At first I was hesitant, given the crust was made of saltine crackers. But it so works! We loved these.
Truly unique pot luck or apres Mex meal finale. Fully effective at capturing the margarita flavors! Wonder how it would pair with one of those nearly brandy-like dark tequilas? Missed opportunity to name them Frozen Margarita Bars.
These were great. Didn’t taste too much alcohol (if you’re worried about that). Very fresh, full of lime flavor. I sprinkled lime zest on top for some added color pop.
Do you need to cover (plastic? Foil?) when freezing the crust before cooking? Same question for freezing prior to cutting it. 2 hours seems a long time to be in the freezer without any covering. Also, it’s a curd and I’m wondering now to stack bars for freezing without them sinking into each other. Is parchment between layers sufficient? I’m not used to freezing baked goods or making curd, so many thanks for any tips.
Brought these to a BBQ and everyone raved about them. Tastes just like a margarita! I did have to pop them in and out of the freezer a few times to keep them from getting too soggy. I may try the pectin additive another suggested. These are going to be a summer staple for sure.
These bars are stellar. I used a shortbread crust from another recipe, adding a few crushed-up saltines, but other than that, I made it as written. Vaughn Vreeland's recipes are always perfect. I will make this recipe again and again and again. It's that wonderful. I took a pan of these to a Memorial Weekend cookout tonight and they were a huge hit! 🇺🇸
As easy and delicious as they seem. I cut them into small bars and took them to a taco party, and everyone enjoyed them. A great sweet for a casual dinner!
These are sooo salty. If I made them again I would not add salt to the crust, filling, or top. The salt from the crackers is more than enough.
I made these for a party, and even though we had lots of other food and deserts, this was crowd’s favorite! I’m so happy to have discovered these, will be making them for parties all the time!
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