These are my favourite lemon bars! Our recipe combines essentially the most scrumptious shortbread crust with a creamy, tart lemon filling. These bars are straightforward to make, have a brief checklist of components, and final in your fridge for every week!
I’m undecided I can convey how a lot I like these unimaginable lemon bars. Let’s begin with the crust. In case you’ve had shortbread cookies earlier than, our lemon bar crust will remind you of them. I adore it a lot that I’d be joyful to eat the crust all by itself (it’s that good).
The lemon filling is scrumptious, too. I exploit contemporary lemon juice and lemon zest to pack in as a lot lemony taste as attainable. These lemon bars are a must-make!
Key Components
- Butter: Since these lemon bars have a shortbread crust, I exploit melted butter to make them. Salted butter is ideal, however unsalted is ok. Simply comply with my ideas for including a little bit of salt to our recipe beneath.
- Flour: All-purpose flour is ideal right here or use your favourite gluten-free all-purpose flour mix.
- Sugar: I exploit granulated sugar for the crust and lemon topping.
- Lemons: I often purchase 5 lemons when purchasing for this recipe to make sure I’ve sufficient juice. For these bars, you’ll use the zest of a lemon or two and the juice of 4 to five lemons.
- Eggs: These are the bottom of our lemon filling.
- Vanilla: I add a little bit of vanilla to make the crust style much more scrumptious. I extremely suggest it!
How you can Make Lemon Bars
Lemon bars are such a easy dessert! I begin with the crust. We’re choosy in the case of crusts (homemade pie crust being an excellent instance). You’ll begin by rubbing lemon zest and vanilla into the sugar, making a extra aromatic lemon sugar that makes an much more scrumptious crust.
Then, add melted butter. I exploit melted butter as an alternative of softened butter for the very best lemon bar crust. Melted butter is less complicated and it makes the crust extra crisp, which is ideal towards the creamy lemon filling.
You’ll bake the crust till golden brown earlier than including the filling, which you’ll add to the new baked crust. The filling is easy to make. You’ll whisk sugar, flour, salt, lemon zest, eggs, and lemon juice collectively after which pour it in.
The bars bake a bit longer, after which they should cool earlier than reducing. Straightforward! By the way in which, I retailer them within the fridge (they final about 1 week!).
Our Favourite Lemon Bars
-
PREP
-
COOK
-
TOTAL
These straightforward lemon bars have essentially the most scrumptious shortbread crust and a creamy, tart lemon topping. Making the crust with melted butter is far simpler than softened butter, which is frequent in different recipes. Don’t skip chilling the crust earlier than baking, it actually helps maintain the crust crisp and crunchy.
Makes 16 lemon bars
You Will Want
Shortbread Crust
12 tablespoons (170g) salted butter, melted and cooled
1/2 cup (100g) granulated sugar
1 teaspoon lemon zest
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 cups (260g) all-purpose flour, spooned and leveled
Lemon Topping
1 ½ cups (300g) granulated sugar
3 tablespoons (25g) all-purpose flour
1/4 teaspoon wonderful sea salt
2 teaspoons lemon zest
4 giant eggs
3/4 cup (180ml) freshly squeezed lemon juice, from 4 to five lemons
2 tablespoons powdered sugar for sifting tops of bars
Instructions
- Make Crust
1Line a straight-sided 13×9-inch steel baking pan with foil, leaving an overhang on two reverse sides. (This may assist when eradicating the cooled bars from the pan.) Calmly coat the perimeters of the foil, however not the underside, with non-stick cooking spray or further melted butter to forestall the lemon topping from sticking.
2In a medium bowl, use a spatula to stir and press the sugar, salt, 1 teaspoon of lemon zest, and vanilla extract collectively till moist and aromatic. Stir within the flour and melted butter till a crumbly, stiff dough kinds.
3Press the dough evenly into the underside of the ready baking pan (it could not appear to be sufficient dough at first, however it’ll cowl the underside properly). Prick the dough with a fork throughout to forestall air bubbles whereas baking.
4Freeze dough for five minutes or till agency (or refrigerate for half-hour).
5Whereas the crust chills, place an oven rack close to the middle of the oven and preheat the oven to 325°F (162°C).
6Bake the shortbread crust till flippantly golden brown and set, 25 to half-hour.
- Make Lemon Bars
1Whereas the crust bakes, stir the sugar, flour, salt, and a pair of teaspoons of lemon zest. Whisk within the eggs till clean, then whisk within the lemon juice.
2As soon as the crust has baked, pour the lemon topping over the new crust. Return the pan to the oven and enhance the oven temperature to 350°F (177°C). Bake till the topping is about within the middle and it not wiggles when the pan is moved, 20 to 25 minutes.
3Set the pan on a cooling rack and funky till the lemon bars are agency and the underside of the pan is not heat, about 1 hour. (You may pace this up by inserting the bars into the fridge as soon as the pan is not scorching).
4As soon as cooled, use the foil overhang to rigorously raise the bars from the pan and place them on a reducing board. Peel away the foil, then reduce the bars into 16 or 32 small bars. Sift the powdered sugar over the bars.
Adam and Joanne’s Suggestions
- Storing: Place the cooled and reduce lemon bars in an hermetic container lined with parchment paper. Refrigerate for as much as one week. Freeze for as much as 3 months.
- Butter: I exploit salted butter, however you need to use unsalted. For unsalted butter, add 1/4 teaspoon wonderful sea salt to the crust.
- Measuring your flour: Fluff the flour in its container, then gently scoop it into your measuring cup till barely mounded. Stage off the highest with a knife for correct measuring. For much more accuracy, use a scale and measure the flour by weight (in grams).
- Crust recipe impressed by Tremendous Cooking’s shortbread crust.
- The vitamin info offered beneath are estimates.
Vitamin Per Serving
Serving Measurement
1 bar
/
Energy
260
/
Protein
4g
/
Carbohydrate
40g
/
Dietary Fiber
1g
/
Complete Sugars
25g
/
Complete Fats
10g
/
Saturated Fats
6g
/
Ldl cholesterol
69mg
