These bright, zingy lemon bars will give your taste buds a tease! A sweet-tart, zesty lemon filling is baked over a crumbly buttery golden shortbread crust. The filling is made with lots of freshly squeezed lemon juice and lemon zest which gives these bars their intense lemon flavour. Finished off with a dusting of icing sugar, these lemon bars are a classic and irresistible treat. They’re as delicious as they are pretty.
Lemons bring bright citrus-sunshine into my life and remind me of springtime. For this reason I always serve these lemon bars at my family’s springtime Easter gathering. These bars also make a perfect dessert for a spring brunch, bridal shower or Mother’s Day.
Ingredients needed
- butter
- icing sugar and granulated sugar
- all purpose flour
- salt
- eggs
- lemons
How to make shortbread crust
- With an electric mixer beat butter and icing sugar until smooth
- Add flour and salt and blend until the flour is incorporated and a clumpy dough forms
- Spread and press the dough into a 9” x 13” pan lined with parchment paper
- Bake the crust for 20 – 22 minutes until lightly golden
How to make lemon filling and bake
- With an electric mixer beat eggs, sugar, lemon zest and lemon juice until combined
- Slowly add flour and beat until the mixture becomes smooth
- Gently pour the lemon filling over the hot crust and place in the oven
- Bake for 20 – 25 minutes until the centre is set, no longer jiggles, and the edges are lightly golden
How do I know if the lemon filling is set?
The lemon bars are done when the centre no longer jiggles and the edges are set. If the filling still jiggles and seems runny, then give the bars a few more minutes to bake. It’s best not to over-bake the bars as the lemon filling will continue to set as the bars cool.
How to cut lemon bars
Make sure the bars are completely cooled and chilled. Run a knife around the edges to release the bars from the sides of the pan. Using the parchment paper handles, life the bars out of the pan and to a board. Use a large chef’s knife and trim off about ¼” of the browned caramelized edges. Don’t discard these pieces as they’re good for snacking on! Cut the remaining rectangle into 24 equal squares. After the squares are cut, dust the tops with icing sugar.
Recipe tips
- Grease and line the pan with parchment paper leaving an overhang which helps you lift the pars out of the pan
- Be sure and pat the shortbread crust dough firmly into the bottom of the pan and ¼” up the sides
- The eggs and lemons should be at room temperature
- Zest the lemons before squeezing out the juice and use only freshly squeezed lemon juice
- Make the lemon filling while the crust is baking
- Do not allow the crust to cool completely, slowly pour the lemon filling over the hot crust
- Some bubbles or a white crust may form on top of the baked bars, but no worries as icing sugar will cover those imperfections
- Let bars cool at room temperature for 2 hours then refrigerate for 2 hours or longer before cutting
- Trim off at least ¼” of the caramelized edges of the bars before cutting into 24 squares
- Use a large chef’s knife to cut the bars and wipe the knife off after each cut
Can lemon bars be made ahead?
Lemon bars are a great make-ahead dessert. Bake them a day ahead, chill them in the pan and cut them and dust with icing sugar the day you need them. They are actually easier to cut when they have chilled overnight.
How to store and/or freeze lemon bars
The bars store well spaced out in an airtight container in the refrigerator for 5 days or in the freezer up to 3 months. If stacking more than one layer, place a piece of parchment paper in between each layer to avoid the bars from sticking. Thaw frozen bars in the refrigerator for a few hours or overnight. After storing the bars you may require to dust the tops with icing sugar again as the original dusting will likely be absorbed from the moisture in the container.
Lemon bars are perfect as a dessert, snack or for an afternoon party. Serve the bars cold or at room temp with a cup of lemon tea. Enjoy!
If you love lemon recipes then try some of these:
- Lemon Poppyseed Cookies
- Lemon Poppyseed Muffins
- Lemon Madeleines
- Lemon Blueberry Loaf
- Lemon Coconut Cupcakes
Recipe
Lemon Bars
A bright lemon filling is baked over a crumbly buttery golden shortbread crust then dusted with icing sugar for a classic and irresistible treat.
Ingredients
Shortbread crust
- 1 cup butter at room temperature (2 sticks)
- ½ cup icing sugar
- 2 cups all purpose flour
- 2 tablespoons cornstarch
- ½ teaspoon salt
Lemon filling
- 8 large eggs
- 2 cups granulated sugar
- 2 tablespoons grated lemon zest (zest about 4 lemons)
- 1 cup freshly squeezed lemon juice (juice the zested lemons and possibly 1 or 2 more)
- ⅓ cup all purpose flour
Garnish
- ¼ cup icing sugar
Instructions
Shortbread crust
-
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Prepare a 9 x 13” baking pan by greasing the bottom and sides and lining the bottom (lengthwise) with a long piece of parchment paper which extends over two ends of the pan to create handles.
-
In the large bowl of a mixer with the paddle attachment, cream butter and icing sugar at medium speed until fluffy. Reduce mixer speed to low, add flour, cornstarch and salt and blend until incorporated. The dough will bind into large clumps.
-
Drop dollops of dough onto the bottom of the prepared pan. With floured hands spread and press the dough firmly and evenly into the pan building it up about ¼” on all sides.
-
Bake crust for 20 to 22 minutes until lightly golden. Remove crust from oven and leave the oven on. The lemon filling (see below) should be poured in while the crust is still hot.
Lemon filling
-
While the shortbread crust is baking, make the filling. In the large bowl of a mixer with the whisk attachment, beat eggs, sugar, lemon zest and lemon juice. Slowly add the flour and beat until the mixture becomes smooth.
-
Gently pour the filling over the hot crust. Carefully place the pan in the oven (the filling will be watery) and bake for 20 – 25 minutes until the centre is set, no longer jiggles, and the edges are lightly golden.
-
Remove from oven to a rack to cool at room temperature for about 2 hours. Then refrigerate the pan for at least 2 hours or ideally, overnight to ensure the bars are chilled completely.
-
Run a knife around the edges to release the bars from the sides of the pan. Using the parchment paper handles, gently lift the squares out of the pan to a cutting board. With a large chef’s knife, trim away about ¼” of the browned edges then cut into 32 squares. Dust squares with icing sugar. Serve the bars cold or at room temperature.
[…] Lemon Bars […]