Lemon is one of my favorite flavors to use in desserts, because the tartness of the lemon really cuts through any buttery base for a perfect marriage. Lemon bars are really easy to make using very few, simple ingredients – and perfect with just a sprinkling of powdered sugar on top!
Lemon Bars
Ingredients
Crust
- 1 cup unsalted butter, melted
- 1/2 cup granulated sugar (100g)
- 2 1/8 cups all-purpose flour (265g)
- 2 tsp vanilla extract
- 1/2 tsp kosher salt
Filling
- 2 cups granulated sugar (400g)
- 6 large eggs, room temp
- 1 cup freshly squeezed lemon juice
- 6 tbsp all-purpose flour (50g)
- powdered sugar
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 325°F. Place a piece of parchment paper in a 9×13 baking dish such that there is paper overhanging the sides (this will be used to pull the bars out of the dish, so make sure there's enough to hold on to!).
- To make the shortbread crust, mix the melted butter, sugar, vanilla, and salt together in a large bowl. Sift in the flour and stir until fully combined and thick; it should be a bit softer than play-dough. Scoop the dough out into the prepared baking dish, and spread it out evenly in the dish, making sure that it's pressed down flat and level, and all the way into the corners of the dish.
- Bake the crust by itself for 20-22 minutes, just until the edges barely start to brown. Remove the crust from the oven, and with a fork, dot the entire surface with holes, making sure not to poke all the way through the crust. Set the crust aside as you prepare the filling.
- In a large bowl, sift together the sugar and flour. This is an important step to make sure that the lemon curd turns out silky smooth, so don't skip it! Add the eggs and lemon juice next, and whisk thoroughly until the mix is fully homogeneous.
- The crust should be just warm now, not hot right from the oven. Gently pour the filling mix over the top of the crust, and bake for an additional ~24 minutes (check it starting at ~22 minutes, just to be safe). The filling should be set, with little to no wobble when the pan is tapped. Remove the pan from the oven and let it cool all the way to room temperature, which can take up to 2 hours, so be patient! Once cooled, place them in the fridge to chill for at least an hour.
- When ready to serve, remove the pan from the fridge, and while gripping the overhanging parchment paper, lift the whole thing out of the pan and onto a cutting board. I recommend using a knife to carefully free the bake from the pan where necessary to avoid accidentally breaking it when trying to lift it out. Once free, with a sharp knife, cut into 24 squares and dust liberally with powdered sugar. Return leftovers to the fridge.
- Enjoy!
