Lemon Bars
It’s officially summer! For me that means it is time for ice cream and lemon bars. Who am I kidding, ice cream is a year round affair for me. But lemon bars are one of my favorite desserts and I am usually able to be patient and wait for summer to make them. I even made a lot of crust last year and stored it in my freezer because I knew I would be eating them all summer.
When you plan on making these, maybe promise someone that you will bring them to their cookout or something, if not you are entering very dangerous territory being alone with these bars and with no accountability lol. Don’t ask me how quickly they disappeared after I made them. Just letting you know in advance.
These lemon bars are perfectly sweet and tart with a thick and salty shortbread-like crust. Each bite packs a punch of flavor. Most lemon bars recipes have a thinner and sweeter shortbread crust. I like a thick crust and I wanted my crust to be more on the savory side. These lemon bars came out just right, the sweet and tangy creamy curd topping and the buttery and salty crumbly crust come together very nicely to create a very flavorful and addicting treat.
A couple of tips:
- For a less tart curd, subtract 2 tablespoons of lemon juice from the curd recipe.
- For a less crunchy crust and one that adheres to the custard more, you can bake the crust for only about 15 to 18 minutes.
- The parchment paper helps with an easy and less messy removal but if you don’t have parchment paper, just lightly spray the pan.
Ok I think you are ready.
Lemon Bars
This recipe yields one 9×13 inch pan.
The Crust
- 1 1/2 cups butter (3 sticks) at room temperature
- 6 tablespoons sugar
- 3 1/4 cups flour
- 1 1/2 tsp salt
The Curd
- 2 1/4 cups sugar
- 1 cup flour
- 6 eggs
- 1 cup lemon juice
- 2 tablespoons lemon zest
Method
Preheat your oven to 350ºF then line a 9×13 inch pan with parchment paper. Beginning with the crust, mix together the butter, sugar, flour and salt. Press the mixture into the pan evenly then bake in the oven for about 20 to 25 minutes or until golden.
For the curd, mix together the sugar and flour then mix in the eggs, lemon juice and lemon zest. After taking the crust out and letting it cool, pour the curd mixture on top of the crust. Put it in the oven and bake for an additional 25 to 30 minutes. When ready, take it out of the oven and let it cool then remove it from the pan with the parchment paper, sprinkle with icing sugar and cut it into squares. Store in the refrigerator and try not to eat everything all at once. (Good luck!)
