Salted Margarita Bars

I saw these somewhere and had to make them. Good tart and tasty after golf bake. Maybe use a graham cracker base next time.

Salted Margarita Bars


INGREDIENTS
CRUST
• ½ cup/113 grams unsalted butter (1 stick), melted, plus more for greasing the pan
• About 40 saltine crackers (from one 4-ounce/113-gram sleeve)
• 1 tablespoon granulated sugar
• 1 teaspoon kosher salt
FILLING
• 2 teaspoons lime zest plus ½ cup juice (from about 4 limes)
• ¼ cup tequila (preferably blanco)
• 2 tablespoons orange liqueur, such as Grand Marnier
• Pinch of kosher salt
• 5 large egg yolks
• 1 (14-ounce) can sweetened condensed milk
• Flaky salt, for finishing

METHOD

  1. Heat the oven to 350 degrees. Lightly grease a 9-inch square baking pan with butter. Line the buttered pan with parchment, leaving an overhang on two sides to help pull the bars out of the pan.
  2. CRUST: In a food processor, pulse the saltines until ground like coarse sand. 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. Pour the mixture into the lined pan, press into an even layer and freeze for about 15 minutes.
  3. After the crust has chilled, bake it until fragrant and golden brown, about 15 to 18 minutes.
  4. FILLING: As the crust is chilling, in a liquid measuring cup or small bowl, combine the lime zest, lime juice, tequila, orange liqueur and salt.
  5. 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.
  6. Bake 15 to 17 minutes until the curd is set around the edges and slightly jiggly in the center.
  7. Transfer to a rack to cool slightly, then freeze for at least 2 hours.
  8. 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!

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