Baking is not my strongest suit. That is not to say that I do not bake at all. Until now baking has just been some fun box mix hacks. That said, some of the more popular posts on this site, Jiffy Corn Bread My Way and Almond Joy Brownies are…. baking… sort of. Needing to expand my skills, I am carefully wading into the whole baking pool. So motivated by the fact Lynn loves Lemon Bars, and I love Lynn, learning how to make Lemon Bars (from scratch) seemed like a good idea.
Given my ignorance of many things baking, I decided that this was not a good time to make up a recipe myself. Learning how to make Lemon Bars would be best accomplished by cruising some of my favorite food blog sites. Sally’s Baking Addiction is an all-around favorite of mine so I was not surprised to find a great recipe, Lemon Bars with Shortbread Crust. This is a right from her site, with a few mods to fit my style, so thanks Sally!
Things that Make this Recipe Great
One of the things that drew me to this recipe, only 7 ingredients. I am not a hardcore baker… yet. As such, my cabinets are more stocked toward savory cooking. So seeing a short, on-hand ingredients list was a big win for me.
Also, there is no precooking of the lemon curd filling like some recipes. Mix up the filling in a bowl, pour it over the pre-cooked crust, pop it back in the oven, life is good. Accordingly, not much in the way of cleanup. Yea!
Since this recipe is what I call “Learning Lemon Bars”, I will pass along a few things that I found important to learn, in case this is a how-to experience for you too.
Stuff I Learned
Pre-baking the crust gives it enough structure to prevent sogginess when adding the lemon filling. Poking holes halfway into the warm crust before pouring in the filling gives it something to hold onto when cutting and serving.
Also, and I knew this before I started this recipe but it cannot be stressed enough. DO NOT use bottled lemon juice. Get a good lemon juicer. (And resist the urge to buy a lime juicer too, limes work just fine in a lemon juicer). Squeezing fresh lemons will reward you in this, and any other time a recipe asks for lemon juice. Throw that bottle of store-bought lemon juice away. You will thank me.
The version below is a halved down from the original recipe. Lynn and I like lemon bars far too much to have a full recipe sitting around. We have no will power for such things.
Learning Lemon Bars
Course: DessertDifficulty: Easy9
servingsA great recipe if you are learning how to make lemon bars for the first time (or even if you are an old pro). This is the scaled down by half version of the original recipe.
Ingredients
- For Shortbread Crust
1/2 Cup 1/2 Unsalted Butter (Melted)
1/4 Cup 1/4 Granulated Sugar
1 Tsp 1 Pure Vanilla Extract
1/4 Tsp 1/4 Salt (Kosher)
1 Cup 1 All Purpose Flour
- For Lemon Filling
1 Cup 1 Granulated Sugar
3 TBSP 3 All Purpose Flour
3 3 Eggs (Large)
1/2 Cup 1/2 Lemon Juice (Freshly squeezed from approx 2 lemons)
- Optional (for Dusting)
Confectioners’ Sugar
Process
- Preheat Oven and Prep Pan
- Preheat Oven to 325 Deg F (162 Deg C)
Formula: (325°F − 32) × 5/9 = 162.778°C - Line 9×9 baking pan with parchment paper. Extend the parchment over the edge of the pan for easier removal. (See Notes 1 and 2).
- Prepare Crust
- Add melted butter, sugar, vanilla extract and salt to a bowl and mix to combine.
- Add flour to bowl mixing to combine into a thick dough.
- Spread dough into pan lined with parchment. Press firmly from edge to edge. The bottom of a glass can help to flatten the dough out to an even thickness.
- Bake crust for for 16-18 minutes. Check after 15 minutes to ensure crust is not over cooked. You are looking for slightly golden brown on the edges, not throughout. Remember that crust will be cooked again after the addition of the filling.
- While crust is warm, using a fork, poke some holes an inch or so apart halfway into crust. This step helps ensure the filling will adhere to the crust. Leave oven on and set crust aside while making filling.
- Prepare Lemon Filling
- Crack the eggs into a large bowl and add the lemon juice. Mix to combine.
- Sift sugar and flour (to remove any lumps) into the bowl with lemon and eggs If you do not own a sifter, a strainer with fine holes works great. If you don’t have either don’t sweat it, you’ll be fine!
- Whisk eggs, lemon, flour and sugar to combine.
- Final Assembly and Baking
- Carefully pour filling into pan with crust.
- Place pan into the oven on the center rack and bake for about 20 minutes or until the center no longer jiggles when you gently shake the pan.
- When filling is set remove pan and set on counter (remember pan is hot). Cool at room temperature for at least 2 hours, then for another 1 or 2 hours in the refrigerator.
- Once completely cooled you can remove the uncut bars from the pan using the parchment overhang to aid the process. (Do not try to cut the bars while in the pan.) Place on a cutting board and slice into squares. I use a serrated bread knife, wiped between each cut for a cleaner cut.
- If serving right away dust with optional confectioners sugar. Or store undusted in the refrigerator in a covered container. Dusting just before serving will make for a better presentation as the sugar would just dissolve during storage in the fridge. They should last about a week in a covered container. See Note 3 for freezing instructions.
Notes
- 1. Note that this recipe has been halved from the original, which calls for a 9×13 pan. Refer to the link on Sally’s Baking Addiction above if you desire a larger batch.
- 2. I used a metal pan. Glass may be preferred in the event you detect any metallic taste but due to the parchment paper, this is unlikely. I also like to lightly spray baking release spray on the pan before and after lining the pan with parchment. The spray helps the parchment stick to the pan for easier lining, and adds another assurance that the bars will come out easily.
- These don’t last very long in our house but they can be frozen if that is your thing. After the bars are cut and without the confections sugar dusting, place onto a baking sheet. Put the sheet into the freezer for an hour. Once frozen individually, wrap each bar with aluminum foil or plastic wrap and freeze for up to 3 months. When ready to eat, defrost in the refrigerator (not at room temperature) and dust with confectioners sugar and serve.