The first time I made lemon bars was from a Barefoot Contessa mix. My dad brought me the mix home from a business trip in Texas. I was a teenager and they were delicious and so fun to make. My family, especially my dad loves citrus. Lemon is just so fresh, tangy and delicious!
As tasty as the mix was we all know homemade is defiantly better! So when creating this recipe I turned to my cooking Queen and the Queen of lemon bars Ina Garten. I’ve made her recipe before and it’s delicious but I like a thicker shortbread base and a less floury filling. This lemon bar recipe is my dream lemon bar. A thick sweet shortbread base that’s buttery and soft but sturdy to support the filling. The filling is sweet but tangy and super smooth and thick.
Lemon bars are an incredibly easy dessert to pull together but you do need to remember a few key things to make these lemon bars the best you’ve ever tasted. Firstly press the dough into to pan. Make sure it’s pressed together well this will prevent a crumbly mess when you go to eat them. Chill these bars overnight! I know that’s hard but if you want the best results possible chill them overnight! and make sure you store them in your fridge! There is nothing worse then a runny lemon bar! And lastly don’t dust with powdered sugar until you’re ready to serve. If you refrigerate powdered sugar you’ll end up with the sugar melting into the bars and they wont look very nice!
Overall these lemon bars are really easy and so delicious! They are perfect for summer entertaining. I love my sweets but my preference is a bar or a cookie, just a small bite to satisfy my sweet tooth. These do just that! I hope you make them this summer! Enjoy!
Lemon Bars
Ingredients
Shortbread Crust
- 1 cup unsalted butter, melted
- 1/2 cup white sugar
- 2 tsp vanilla extract
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 2 1/4 cup all purpose flour
Lemon Filling
- 2 1/4 cups sugar
- 1/2 cup all purpose flour
- 6 eggs
- 1 cup lemon juice
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350°F. Line a 9×16 baking pan with parchment and set aside.
Shortbread Crust
- In a mixing bowl stir together melted butter, sugar, vanilla and salt until smooth. Add flour and stir to combine. When a ball begins to form stop mixing.
- Press dough into the prepared baking pan. Ensure dough is evenly distributed and pressed well into the pan. I use the bottom of a cup measure to make my crust even and smooth.
- Bake crust for 15-20 minutes, the crust should be every lightly browned at the edges. Remove from the oven and set aside to cool. Leave the oven on.
Lemon Filling
- In a large bowl whisk together sugar, eggs, lemon juice and flour. Ensure filling is completely smooth. Pour over semi cooled crust.
- Bake for 30-35 minutes. The centre of the bars should be set, but soft. Jiggle the pan if the centre isn't runny they are done. Cool at room temperature for 1 hour. Then place in the fridge for at least another 3 hours, but for best results chill in the fridge overnight.
- When ready to serve lift bars out of the pan and slice into squares. Dust with powdered sugar. Enjoy!
