That is the BEST Lemon Bars Recipe with a buttery shortbread crust and a thick, luscious layer of citrus custard. These Lemon Squares make a chic deal with!
Lemon bars are a preferred dessert that’s simple to make, however these are the very best, bar none. These Straightforward Lemon Bars are at all times successful! These have the proper ratio of creamy, flavorful lemon filling and tender crust.
Why You Should Make
- This lemon bars recipe with a shortbread crust and sweet-tart lemon custard topping is a basic deal with.
- Not everyone seems to be a chocoholic, so having a couple of recipes with lemon is nice on your dessert repertoire.
- These lemon squares are simple to make and are completely scrumptious!
Ingredient Notes:
- Kitchen Staples: flour, sugar, salt, eggs
- Butter – Don’t use margarine, butter offers higher taste. I used salted butter.
- Recent Lemons – For lemon juice and zest – By no means use bottled lemon juice as the flavour is inferior.
- Powdered Sugar – Sift earlier than utilizing to take away lumps.
- Strawberries – Elective garnish if making for firm.
The way to Make
Knowledgeable Ideas:
- First, purchase recent lemons. You will have ½ cup of recent juice. Every common lemon will present roughly 2 tablespoons of lemon juice, so you will want at the very least 4 lemons. I’d purchase one additional to be secure as there’s a extensive variation in sizes and juice manufacturing!
- PRO-Tip: Zest your lemons earlier than juicing. As soon as they’re juiced, it’s extra of a problem to zest.
- PRO-Tip: There are a few methods to get the utmost juice out of a lemon. First, you possibly can roll the lemon forwards and backwards on the counter with the palm of your hand to assist break up the fibers. Additionally, microwaving the entire lemon for about 20 seconds might assist get further juice as properly!
- Use the meals processor to make the shortbread crust. It’s faster than slicing the butter in by hand, plus makes a young crust.
- Par baking the crust first offers a barrier to the lemon filling plus ensures the crust will end baking concurrently the topping.
- Making a lemon filling as an alternative of a lemon curd offers a moister extra flavorful burst of lemon.
- Lining the baking dish with parchment or non-stick foil makes for straightforward removing and pan cleanup!
- Let the bars cool fully earlier than slicing to get the cleanest-looking squares. Chilling them additionally makes for cleaner slices.
- Mud with powdered sugar earlier than serving for a pleasant completed look. When you do that forward of time, the sugar will soften and take in into the bars.
Steadily Requested Questions
Ranging from the underside up, these bars start with a easy, buttery shortbread crust. Nothing funky, simply 3 components pulsed within the meals processor to make an ideal base.
Subsequent, the mix of each lemon juice and lemon zest provides a daring citrus taste. Notice that recent juice and zest are a should. Not one of the jarred lemon juice or off-the-rack dried lemon zest.
Including flour to the lemon combination thickens the filling completely with out compromising the feel.
Having the proper ratio of crust to filling is essential, too. You want simply sufficient crust so you possibly can choose up these bars together with your fingers as wanted and a thicker layer of lemon custard to provide you that zesty lemon taste you’re keen on!
For the cleanest slices, chill your bars first. Then use a heat knife (run underneath scorching water, then dry it) to assist the knife glide by the bars simply.
Lining the baking pan with non-stick foil or parchment lets you simply take away an entire batch to a slicing board for simpler slicing.
In order for you all of the bars to be the identical measurement, use a ruler to make marks at 2-inch intervals alongside either side to information you.
They are often saved on the countertop at room temperature for a day or so, however to increase their lifespan, it’s finest to refrigerate them. They are going to be good for 4-5 days stored within the fridge.
In the event that they’re underbaked, your lemon custard is not going to set. And to get your bars firmer, retailer them within the fridge.
You Might Additionally Like:
There isn’t any doubt that chocolate is the gold normal for decadent desserts at our home. Fruit pies price close to the highest, too. Although he snubs lime sweets, the hubby at all times raves after I whip up a lemon dessert. Lemon bars are the best strategy to expertise the sweet-tart nirvana of a lemon dessert! And simply to really feel virtuous, high every with half a ripe strawberry! Double the fruit for a pleasant dose of vitamin C. This Greatest Lemon Squares Recipe is a should make!!!
Components
Crust:
- 1 cup flour
- ¼ cup sugar
- ½ cup butter chilly butter, diced
Lemon topping:
- 3 eggs
- 1 ½ cups sugar
- 1/2 cup recent lemon juice
- 1 tablespoon lemon zest
- ½ cup flour, sifted
- ⅛ teaspoon salt
Garnish:
- Powdered Sugar
- Recent strawberries, reduce in half, non-compulsory
Directions
- Preheat oven to 350º. Line an 8 x 8-inch pan with non-stick foil or line it with parchment paper. Put aside.
- In a meals processor, pulse the crust components till the butter is in very small items. Press into the underside of the ready pan and bake for about quarter-hour or till the crust simply begins to brown. Cool fully.
- To make the filling, whisk collectively eggs, sugar, lemon juice, zest, flour, and salt.
- Pour over the cooled crust.
- Bake for 30-35 extra minutes or till the topping is agency and calmly browned.
- Cool, then reduce a sliver off all sides earlier than sprinkling with powdered sugar and slicing into bars. Garnish with berries if desired.
Notes
It’s possible you’ll double the recipe and bake in a 9 x 13-inch pan or triple and bake in a jelly roll pan.
Ensure that to zest your lemons earlier than you juice them. It is very tough to zest a juiced lemon.
Recipe tailored from Ina Garten
Really useful Merchandise
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Vitamin Data:
Yield:
16
Serving Dimension:
1 bar
Quantity Per Serving:
Energy: 229Complete Fats: 8gSaturated Fats: 4gTrans Fats: 0gUnsaturated Fats: 3gLdl cholesterol: 52mgSodium: 81mgCarbohydrates: 39gFiber: 0gSugar: 29gProtein: 3g
