Happy Memorial Day!  I hope everyone is enjoying the weekend and spending time with family and friends and eating lots of delicious food!  Although we need to remember the reason for the picnics and gatherings – to honor the men and women who have died defending our freedom, and fighting for the freedom of others.  It’s because of these brave people that we live in a country where we can freely gather and enjoy such a weekend.  Make a toast at your BBQ this weekend and remember those who have paid the ultimate price.

This weekend I served a new recipe to our friends Tami and Barry and their sweet kids – they came for a little picnic with our family and we had a great time in the backyard with the kids in the kiddie pool, playing with bubbles, climbing trees and even homemade snow cones. 🙂 (thanks Barry!)

I have to say, these bars were quite a hit…we polished off the entire pan in no time!  I think these bars taste like summer…light and fresh and fruity, but also that great soft, buttery, cookie crust.  Today my boys kept asking me for fruit bars and I kept telling them they were all gone!

You might make these as a 4th of July dessert also – such pretty patriotic colors.  These could be made with any of your favorite fruit, so give them a try this summer when fruit is in abundance.  I adapted these a bit to suit my own taste, I hope you enjoy them!

Look at sweet Emma, even her bows are patriotic 🙂

Summer is made for kids!

Fresh Fruit Bars

1/2 cup unsalted butter, room temperature

2/3 cup sugar

1 large egg

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1/2 teaspoon almond extract

1 1/4 cups all purpose flour

1/2 teaspoon baking soda

1/2 teaspoon cream of tartar

1/4 teaspoon salt

For the cream cheese frosting:

1 – 8 oz package of cream cheese, softened

2 tablespoons of sugar

1/2 powdered sugar

1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

fresh fruit for decorating.  (I used 1 pint of blueberries and about 1/2 pound of strawberries)

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Spray a 9×13 pan with cooking spray and set aside.

With a mixer, cream the butter and sugar together. Add the egg, vanilla and almond extract. Mix until well combined.

In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, baking soda, cream of tartar, and salt.

Add flour mixture to the butter mixture and mix until just combined.

Spread the cookie dough into prepared pan. Bake for about 10 minutes, or until crust is slightly golden brown. Let cool completely.

While the cookie crust is cooling, make the frosting. Using a mixer, beat the cream cheese and sugars together until smooth. Spread frosting over cookie crust in pan.  Decorate with fresh fruit.  Chill until ready to serve.