Raspberry Bars

Great Grandma Nielsen, hardworking, petite little Grandma. (This is the relative that Jessica {Tara’s daughter} inherited all her petite-ness from, lol) She\u27s been a farmer her entire life. Grew up in a tiny Idaho town, retired to Payson. Never eats sugar. No desserts. Ever. Has always said it upsets her stomach. BUT one time for her daughter\u27s birthday she decides to make a special dessert. Her daughter is Dora May, Mark\u27s {Tara’s husband} mom. Dora may is probably turning about 50ish. So Grandma Nielsen is a grown adult, just never made desserts before. Dora May gives her a favorite recipe, a raspberry cream cheese bar, made with vanilla pudding, cream cheese, raspberry jello etc. GG Nielsen doesn\u27t have vanilla pudding, but she does have pistachio pudding! So she substitutes that. And she doesn\u27t have cream cheese, but she does have Velveeta cheese! So she substitutes that. So she serves a pistachio pudding layered dessert with Velveeta cheese and raspberries. She honestly had no idea. Dora May said she was speechless and had to eat every bite, knowing that her mom had gone to the trouble of actually making her a dessert. It’s one of our favorite family stories. Dora May loves to cook to this day, she’s 80 now, and is fantastic at it. She would make the best desserts. I came from a diabetic family, so literally, the only time we would have candy was on Christmas morning. Of all of Dora May’s recipes, I still favor the raspberry bars. I make it about once a year on Easter, when you can pick your own raspberries. I never dared to change it. Dora May would somehow know that I made even the slightest change to the recipe and would hunt me down. I love how creamy and delicious it is. I associate it, and sometimes make it to remember fun and happy family gatherings. Raspberry Bars 1 ½ Cups graham cracker crumbs 6 Tbsp butter, melted 2 Tbsp sugar 8 oz Cream cheese ½ Cup powdered sugar 3.3 oz Vanilla pudding 1 Cup milk 1 Tsp lemon zest 12 oz fresh raspberries Combine crumbs, butter, and sugar until well blended. Press onto baking pan and refrigerate while preparing the filling. Combine cream cheese and powdered sugar with a mixer until well blended. Add pudding, milk, and lemon zest. Beat for 2 minutes. Layer raspberries on crust, then pour mixture on top. Best if you use freshly picked raspberries