Lemon Bars

Lemon Bars are such a quintessential summer dessert! Perfect to have at picnics, brunches, bake sales, bridal showers or just paired with a nice cup of evening tea. The key to a good lemon bar is using fresh lemon juice. I can’t stress that enough. It really brings out the flavor and is totally worth it.
For this recipe, I’ve made a buttery shortbread crust and the filling is double in size because I personally like more filling on top. However, if you prefer less lemon filling, bake this in a 9 x 13 glass pan and it will be perfect for you.

Lemon Bars

An Introverted Blogger

A buttery shortbread crust topped with a sweet and tangy lemon curd filling.

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Total Time 45 minutes mins

Course Dessert

Servings 16 Squares

Ingredients

  

For the shortbread crust

• 2 cups all purpose flour
• 1/4 tsp salt
• 1/2 cup confectioners sugar icing sugar
• 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
• 1 cup cold butter cut into small chunks

For the lemon curd filling

• 2 cups granulated sugar
• 6 Tbsp all purpose flour
• 6 eggs
• 1 cup freshly squeezed lemon juice strained
• Lemon zest of two lemons

Optional

• confectioners sugar icing sugarfor dusting

Instructions

 

• Line your 8 x 8 baking pan with parchment paper and preheat oven to 350 F.
• Place the flour, salt, confectioners sugar, vanilla and the cold butter in a food processor and pulse till the pastry comes together and forms small clumps or crumbs. T
• Transfer this pastry into your prepared pan and flatten out with your hand or spatula to create an even crust. Bake for 20-25 minutes until the edges are slightly brown. Take out of the oven and place on the wire rack.
• Tip : With a fork, poke holes on the warm crust. (Don’t go all the way through, just halfway)
• Reduce your oven temperature to 325 F.
• In a large bowl, sift the flour and add the sugar. Next add in the eggs, lemon juice and lemon zest. Whisk until combined.
• Pour the filling onto the warm crust and bake for about 30-35 minutes until the filling is just set and no longer jiggles.
• Remove the pan from the oven and let it cool at room temperature for 2 hours and then stick it in the fridge for another hour or two until nicely chilled. Remove the lemon bars using the parchment paper and use a clean knife to cut squares. Lastly dust with confectioners sugar and store in the refrigerator for up to a week.