Margarita Day : Margarita Bar recipe

The margarita is a drink that is common but do you know that the original was a concoction of equal parts tequila, orange liquor and lime. The drink was served over ice with a salt rimmed glass. Many say that the Margarita is a version of the popular prohibition drink the Daisy.Margarita in Spanish means Daisy. 

One popular myth about the Margairta is that in October 1941 a bartender at Husson's cantina in Ensenada Mexico created a drink for margarita Henkel who is a well known german celebrity. This remains a mystery but it may be where the name of this drink comes from. 

Yet another myth and yet another place and time where the popular drink got its name was in 1948 in Balines Room in Galveston Texas where a drink was created for Peggy Lee, the popular singer. The spanish version of Peggy's name is Margaret or Margarita.

One thing we do know is that Margaritas are made with Mexican limes or key limes. These limes are smaller with thin skinned limes and much more tart than regular limes

I am sharing a delicious recipe with you for Margarita bars. Hope you enjoy

Serves 9-12. You can also easily double the recipe for a 9×13″ baking dish.

For the crust:
1 cup flour
1/2 cup powdered sugar
1 tsp salt
1/2 cup butter, melted

For the filling:
2 eggs, lightly beaten
1 cup granulated sugar
2 Tbsp flour
1/4 tsp salt
2 Tbsp tequila
1 Tbsp triple sec
2 Tbsp fresh lime juice
2 tsp lime zest
1 drop green food coloring (optional)
Powdered sugar, for dusting

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees and grease an 8×8″ baking dish. In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, powdered sugar, and salt. Stir in the melted butter. Press the dough into the baking dish and then bake 15-20 minutes or until the edges of the crust turn light brown.

Reduce the heat to 300 degrees. In another medium bowl, mix together the eggs, sugar, flour, salt, tequila, triple sec, and lime juice and zest, and food coloring. Pour the filling mixture over the warm crust and bake another 20-25 minutes.

After removing the dish from the oven, lightly dust with powdered sugar. Let cool and then cut into squares. Store leftovers in the refrigerator.