My mom is a bona fide chocoholic. No questions asked. She will opt for chocolate over any other dessert. My dad will eat chocolate, but his go-to is citrusy. Lemony. My parents were in town for the week for Bri’s 8th grade graduation wherein she received yet another award. The Citizenship award. Go, Bri! It turns out, it’s a fairly prestigious award according to a friend of a friend who’s a middle school teacher. All the teachers cast their votes and she and a boy received the honors. Anyhow, on Memorial Day, Chris grilled/ smoked some ribs, we had corn on the cob, baked beans, and Greek salad. For dessert, I made these. I love chocolate, too. And, as I’ve gotten older, I’ve found I also really like the citrus, fruit desserts. Who am I kidding? I love just about any dessert.

Ingredients:

Crust and topping:

• 3 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 1/2 cups sugar
• 1/4 tsp. salt
• 1 1/2 cups chilled butter, cubed
• zest of two lemons

Blackberry filling:

• 4 eggs
• 2 cups sugar
• 1 cup Greek yogurt
• 3/4 cup all-purpose flour
• pinch of salt
• 5 cups fresh blackberries or 2 16oz. bags frozen blackberries, defrosted & drained

Preparation:

Spray a 9×13 pan with non-stick spray; set aside. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Zest two lemons. In a bowl, combine the sugar and using the back of a large spoon, incorporate the lemon zest into the sugar, resulting in a lemony sugar. Combine the lemon sugar, flour, salt, and butter in a standup mixer. Using the paddle attachment, mix until the mixture becomes dry and crumbly. Reserve 2 cups of the mixture for the topping. Press the remaining mixture into the prepared pan. Bake for 12-15 minutes, until lightly golden. Allow to cool for 10 minutes before adding the filling.

For the filling, in a large bowl, whisk together the eggs. Add the sugar, Greek yogurt, flour, salt, and combine together. Fold in the blackberries. Pour the mixture over the crust; spread evenly. Top with the crumb topping. Bake for 50-60 minutes, until the top is lightly browned. Wait one hour before slicing.

*These freeze well.

Source: http://www.bigrigsnlilcookies.com/2012/08/blackberry-pie-bars.html