Lemon Vanilla Dream Bars

This post is way too late but I love this book so much I did not want to skip doing a post on it altogether.  And these bars. Well, all I can say is you need these in your life. Stat.

First let me tell you the awesome marshmallow making lady wrote a kick ass book, probably the most definitive baker’s guide to Vanilla. Pure Vanilla has it all, history, schooling on all types of vanilla and amazing, unique recipes. Also, the layout of the book is just gorgeous. Bravo Shauna.

Honestly it was hard to decide what to make from the book because there are so many great recipes to try. I settled on lemon vanilla bars because I was recently gifted a jar of lemon curd and had Ghirardelli white chocolate chips on hand. But dang,  I was out of vanilla bean paste. Ashamed to admit this, call me either desperate or creative, I dug out some vanilla beans from my recently replenished  bottle of homemade vanilla, scraped the seeds out of several beans pods, added a bit of agave syrup to make my own. Don’t tell anyone.

Whatevers. It worked and the result was delicious.

The best part was how easy these are to throw together. I served them at a dinner party that evening and they were devoured. One guest, a talented baker himself, exclaimed  “This recipe is a keeper!”

You can find your way to your own copy of this book here: 

P.S. I love those little vanilla specks in the batter.