Raspberry lemon blondies fuse the flavors of aromatic berries with tart lemon in a buttery shortbread style bar unlike anything you’ve ever tasted!
So many of you love my Strawberry Lemon Blondies ~ the simple berry-licious blondie that just screams spring and summer. Now I’ve done it again with…what else? Raspberries, the queen of all berries. These raspberry lemon blondies are super soft, buttery, and moist.
Raspberries are in a league of their own ~ they have the most intense complex flavor of all the berries. Of all fruit, really. Turns out raspberries contain almost 300 volatile compounds in their flavor profile. But we don’t need science to confirm what we already know, raspberries rule when it comes to summer fruit. And these raspberry lemon blondies prove it.
related: Raspberry Cake with Lemon Buttercream
what you’ll need to make raspberry lemon blondies
- fresh raspberries
- fresh raspberries are folded into the batter, and a few are pureed for the glaze. There’s no artificial color in that gorgeous glaze!
- butter
- sugar
- granulated sugar in the blondies, powdered sugar in the glaze.
- egg
- lemon juice
- it’s in the batter and in the glaze.
- all purpose flour
- baking powder and salt
that gorgeous glaze!
We can’t talk about raspberry lemon blondies without mentioning the glaze, it’s so incredibly vibrant! Science explains that, too: raspberries have high levels of anthocyanins, which are antioxidants that also give raspberries their rich color (they contribute to their complex flavor, too.) In other words, no need for artificial colors and flavors when you’re working with fresh raspberries.
Here’s how I get that insane color:
- I puree fresh raw raspberries in a small food processor with a little lemon juice.
- I strain the puree to remove the seeds.
- Then I mix the puree with powdered sugar to form a spreadable glaze: the result is eye-popping!
blondie baking tips
Line pan with parchment: If you want to neatly slice your raspberry lemon blondies like I did it helps to line your 9×9 pan with parchment paper so you can lift them out of the pan.
Cream butter, sugar, and egg well: the purpose of creaming these ingredients together is to create a soft fluffy texture in the blondies. Room temperature butter is essential.
Par-freeze your raspberries: raspberries are delicate and can break apart when you fold them into your batter. If you prefer the berries to stay whole, you can use frozen berries, or pop fresh berries in the freezer for an hour or so (laid out on a plate) to firm them up.
Cool before glazing: don’t be tempted to glaze your blondies before cooling them off, or it will melt right into the surface.
Wait for glaze to firm up before slicing: for the prettiest blondies.
Store at room temperature: loosely covered on the counter. Raspberry lemon blondies are quite moist and don’t need to be stored in an airtight container. They can be refrigerated if you like them chilled.
Enjoy within a day or two: they’re best the day they’re baked.
change up your raspberry lemon blondies
Other berries can be used, we’ve done strawberries, but how about blueberries, black raspberries, or blackberries?
Mix blueberries with the raspberries for a red white and blue dessert for patriotic holidays.
Double the recipe for a 9×13 pan.
more raspberry desserts
- Raspberry Cake with Lemon Buttercream
- Raspberry Crisp
- How to Make Raspberry Sugar
- Mixed Berry Cake
- Raspberry Desserts to Make All Summer
- Raspberry Almond Bars
Raspberry Lemon Blondies
Equipment
- 9×9 square baking pan
- parchment paper for easy removal optional
Ingredients
blondies
- 1 cup unsalted butter, at room temperature
- 3/4 cup sugar
- 1 large egg
- 1/4 cup fresh squeezed lemon juice
- 2 1/4 cups all purpose flour
- 1/2 tsp baking powder
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 1 cup fresh or frozen raspberries
glaze
- 1 cup powdered sugar, sifted, measure out your sugar before sifting.
- 1/2 cup raspberries
- 1 Tbsp lemon juice, or just enough to thin the glaze to a spreadable consistency
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350F.
- Line a 9 inch square baking pan with parchment paper with long edges. This is optional but will help you lift out the blondies for easy glazing and slicing later.
- Cream the butter and sugar until fluffy. Beat in the egg and remember to scrape down the sides of the bowl as you go so everything gets evenly incorporated.
- When the egg is fully incorporated, beat in the lemon juice. The lemon juice will probably not completely incorporate at this point, that's ok.
- Whisk together the flour, baking powder, and salt, and add to the wet ingredients, mixing until no more dry flour is present.
- Gently fold in the raspberries, trying your best not to break them up.* Spread the mixture into your pan and spread out as evenly as possible. The dough is thick, so take your time. I like to use a large offset spatula for this job.
- Bake for 30-35 minutes, just until starting to turn golden around the edges and the center is set. A toothpick inserted in the center will be moist but not wet. Don't over-bake these, or they will dry out, but be aware that different ovens bake differently, and your baking time may differ from mine.
- Let the blondies cool on a rack before you glaze them.
make the glaze
- Puree the berries and lemon juice in a small food processor. Strain the puree through a fine mesh strainer, working to get all the juice through leaving just the seeds. You want 1 ½ – 2 tablespoons of puree.
- Stir together the sugar, and puree until no lumps remain. If your glaze is too thin, add a touch more sugar. If it's too thick, add more lemon juice.
- Spread the glaze over the cooled blondies. Let the glaze set before slicing.
Notes
- When you measure out the flour, first fluff the flour, then scoop it with your cup, and then level it without compacting it. This method helps insure an accurate amount.
- If you don’t want to bother with the raspberry puree for the icing, just use lemon juice. I don’t recommend using raspberry jam because it would be too sweet combined with the sugar.
- Do a little test before glazing your blondies. Spoon a bit of glaze on the blondies and see how it does…if it soaks right in it is too thin you can add more sugar. If it’s too thick you can thin it down with more puree or lemon juice.
- For a variation, try this with blueberries, blackberries, or black raspberries. You could also use a combination of strawberries and rhubarb.
Loved this recipe! I’m very picky when it comes to lemon desserts. I’ve tried so many recipes and have trashed all of them until this recipe! These raspberry lemon bars are AMAZING and will definitely be a staple this summer!
These lovely Blondies will be going into my Best File, (as all of your recipes do!) I made them and had them sitting for the glaze to set when our daughter, hubs and 3 kids came clamoring in for an impromptu family dinner. I served these up for dessert. I used a little more lemon juice than called for, and my dear SIL raved about the tartness and the freshness of the raspberry flavor. Wonderful! Thank you once again for your wonderful recipes, Sue! Another keeper!
These were so good! I made them for an office treat and people raved about them. 🧡
We’re big fans of your strawberry blondies in this house, going to bake these this weekend!