Strawberry-Filled Lemon Cream Cheese Bars

Yield: 32 bars

Ingredients

• 1 (18.25 ounce) box Pillsbury Moist Supreme Lemon Cake Mix*
• 1/2 cup butter, softened
• 1/2 cup almonds, finely chopped
• 1 cup strawberry preserves
• 8 ounces cream cheese, softened
• 1/4 cup granulated sugar
• 1/4 cup Pillsbury Best Flour
• 1/8 teaspoon salt
• 1 egg
• 1/2 cup frozen concentrated margarita mix, thawed

Instructions

1. Heat oven to 350 degrees F. Grease a 13 x 9 inch pan.
2. Place cake mix in large bowl. With pastry blender or fork, cut in butter until crumbly.
3. Add almonds; mix well. Reserve 1 cup mixture for topping.
4. Press remaining mixture in bottom of greased pan.
5. Stir preserves until smooth; carefully spread over base.
6. In same bowl, combine cream cheese, sugar, flour, salt and egg; beat until well blended.
7. Add margarita mix; beat at low speed until blended.
8. Carefully pour filling over base.
9. Sprinkle with reserved base mixture.
10. Bake for 35 to 45 minutes or until edges begin to brown and center is set.
11. Cool for 1 hour or until completely cooled.
12. Cut into bars.
13. Store in refrigerator.

Notes

* 18.25 ounce boxes of cake mix have been replaced by 16.5 ounce and 15.25 ounce boxes. To compensate for the volume loss in a 16 ounce box, whisk 6 tablespoons all-purpose flour into the dry cake mix before proceeding with the recipe. To compensate for the volume loss in a 15.25 ounce box, add 1/2 cup + 3 tablespoons all-purpose flour and 1/4 teaspoon baking powder.

For neat-looking bars and easy clean-up, spread preserves to within 1/4 inch of the side of the pan. Preserves should not touch the side of the pan.

Attribution

fooddownunder.com