Lemon Bars

Lemon bars always remind me of summer time. They are tangy and sweet and easy to make… all of my favorite things.

Ingredients:

• vegetable spray

• 1 1/2 sticks unsalted butter, diced

• 2 1/3 cups AP flour

• 1/4 cup light brown sugar

• 1/2 cup confectioner’s sugar

• 1/4 tsp salt

• 4 large eggs plus 2 egg yolks

• 2 cups granulated sugar

• 1 tsp lemon zest

• 1 cup fresh lemon juice (about 8 lemons)

Directions:

1. First we have to make the crust. Preheat your oven to 350 degrees F.

2. Grease a 9 x 13″ pain with vegetable oil spray and line with foil, leaving a 2″ overhang on all sides. Grease the foil as well. This will save you a lot of time and heartache when you’re trying to take your finished bars out of the pan.

3. Pulse the butter, 2 cups of flour, light brown sugar and confectioner’s sugar and salt in a food processor (or blender) until dough comes together.

4. Press evenly into the bottom and about 1/2″ up the side of your greased pan, making sure there aren’t any cracks. I like to use the bottom of a glass to lightly pack the crust down.

5. Bake until the crust is golden, about 25 minutes.

6. Once the crust is finished, set aside to cool and make the filling.

7. For the filling, whisk the whole eggs and the yolks together with the granulated sugar and 1/3 cup flour in a bowl until smooth.

8. Whisk in the lemon juice and zest.

9. Reduce the oven temperature to 300 degrees F.

10. Pour the filling over the crust and return to the oven. Bake until filling is just set, 30-35 mins.

11. Let the bars cool in the pan on a rack and then pot em in the fridge until firm. At least 2 hours.

12. Lift out of the pan using the foil and slice.

13. I like to dust mine with a little more lemon zest and confectioner’s sugar before serving.

I hope these become one of your favorite summertime desserts too.

#lemon #dessert