I’ve been dying to make lemon bars for quite some time. Really, I don’t know what the hold up was. I think the amount of fresh lemons you need for the recipe was a little daunting. Weird, I know. We actually buy lemons on a monthly basis – my husband drinks lemon water daily. So I didn’t feel like I could justify using eight lemons for this dessert :) What I didn’t realize was the SIZE of Costco lemons. They are HUGE. I only ended up using four of them, rather than eight. These were so delicious. I love the tartness they provide. It’s a nice change from the chocolate I tend to lean toward making all the time.
Here is my first step-by-step process post. I’ve got to tell you, I give props to the bloggers that are able to do this on a regular basis. It’s A LOT of work. My goodness. Well worth it in the end of course, but dang gina… Enjoy!
First step: gather your ingredients. For the crust: vegetable oil, for greasing, cold unsalted butter, diced, all-purpose flour, packed brown sugar, confectioner’s sugar, and salt. For the filling: eggs, granulated sugar, more all-purpose flour, sifted, grated lemon zest and fresh lemon juice.
Make the crust: pulse the butter, flour, both sugars and the salt in a food processor until the dough comes together, about 1 minute. Position a rack in the middle of the oven and preheat to 350. In this case, where I used the Calphalon Classic Bakeware Dessert Bar Pan
, grease each individual bar (no foil necessary). Or, grease a 9×13 in. pan with vegetable oil and line with foil.
Press evenly into the bottom and about ½ inch up the sides of the prepared pan, making sure there are no cracks. I divvied up about a tablespoon and a half per bar. Bake until the crust is golden, about 25 minutes.
Meanwhile, make the filling. Whisk the whole eggs and yolks, sugar and flour in a bowl until smooth.
Whisk in the lemon zest and juice. At this point it will be frothy, don’t be alarmed. Remove the crust from the oven and reduce the temperature to 300.
Pour the filling over the warm crust and return to the oven. Bake until the filling is just set 30 to 35 minutes.
Let the bars cool in the pan on a rack, then refrigerate until firm, at least 2 hours.
Lift out of the pan using the foil and slice. Dust with confectioner’s sugar before serving.
Ingredients
For the crust
- Vegetable oil for greasing
- 1 ½ sticks cold unsalted butter diced
- 2 c. all purpose flour
- ¼ c. packed brown sugar
- ¼ c. confectioner’s sugar plus more for garnish
- ¼ tsp. salt
For the filling
- 4 large eggs plus 2 egg yolks
- 2 c. granulated sugar
- 1/3 c. all-purpose flour sifted
- 1 tsp grated lemon zest
- 1 c. fresh lemon juice from about 8 lemons
Instructions
For the crust
-
Position a rack in the middle of the oven and preheat to 350 F. Grease a 9x13 in. pan with vegetable oil and line with foil. Pulse the butter, flour, both sugars and the salt in a food processor until the dough comes together, about 1 minute. Press evenly into the bottom and about ½ inch up the sides of the prepared pan, making sure there are no cracks. Bake until the crust is golden, about 25 minutes.
For the filling
-
Whisk the whole eggs and yolks, sugar and flour in a bowl until smooth. Whisk in the lemon zest and juice. Remove the crust from the oven and reduce the temperature to 300 F. Pour the filling over the warm crust and return to the oven. Bake until the filling is just set 30 to 35 minutes. Let the bars cool in the pan on a rack, then refrigerate until firm, at least 2 hours. Lift out of the pan using the foil and slice. Dust with confectioner’s sugar before serving.
Teresa
Great recipe! Using a whole cup of lemon juice is the key, I think. Yum! Thanks!