A delicious blood orange curd-like filling atop a sage brown butter shortbread crust made with white whole wheat flour.
Start by making the sage brown butter. Place butter in small pan on low heat (3 on our stove). Your goal is NOT to burn the butter, but to slowly brown the butter fats/solids. Stir every few minutes. Once butter takes on a brown hue (about 10-15 minutes), add diced sage, stir for a few seconds, then immediately remove from heat. Cool butter until solid in the fridge or more quickly using an ice bath method.
Preheat oven to 350F. Generously butter an 8" x 11" x 2" glass or ceramic baking dish. Alternately, you can place parchment paper in base with extra hanging over lips to make extraction easier after cooking. (We've done both methods and don't really have a preference.)
Add solid/cooled sage brown butter to flour, sugar, and salt in mixing bowl. Smash together (using hands, food processor, or pastry cutter) until all ingredients mixed into a crumbly consistency similar to dark brown sugar. See picture in article for desired consistency. Pour crumbly dough mixture into baking dish and smash down with hands or a firm spatula until an even surface is formed.
Bake the shortbread crust FIRST before adding blood orange topping. Bake crust for ~35 minutes at 350F until crust is getting some golden brown hues.
While shortbread crust is cooking, make the blood orange filling. Set aside 1/2 cup blood orange juice in bowl to whisk in starch and flour to ensure they don't clump. After whisking, this will basically be an evenly mixed paste that you'll add back to the rest of the blood orange juice and whisk again. Then add sugar and zest and whisk again. In a separate bowl, whisk eggs until evenly beaten. Then add the eggs to the blood orange mixture and whisk vigorously again. You'll want to give the mixture one more vigorous whisking just before pouring it onto hot pre-baked shortbread crust.
Once shortbread is out of oven, pour on the blood orange filling. Place back in oven but immediately turn temp down to 300F. Bake for about 45 minutes or until the center is firm, not jiggly.
Cool on rack to room temperature, then refrigerate. Serve chilled for best flavor and consistency. Garnish with sifted powdered sugar and blood orange zest as desired.
Blood orange bars with sage brown butter shortbread crust https://www.tyrantfarms.com/blood-orange-bars-with-sage-brown-butter-shortbread-crust/