| Level: | Easy |
| Total: | 2 hr 45 min |
| Active: | 30 min |
| Yield: | 12 bars |
Ingredients
- 2 sticks (8 ounces or 227 grams) unsalted butter, plus more for the baking dish
- 1/2 cup (100 grams) granulated sugar
- 2 cups (256 grams) all-purpose flour
- 1/8 teaspoon kosher salt
- 1 average-sized (about 4 1/2 ounces or 130 grams) lemon, rinsed and dried
- 1 1/2 cups (300 grams) granulated sugar
- 1 stick (4 ounces or 115 grams) unsalted butter, cut into chunks
- 4 large eggs
- 2 tablespoons (14 grams) cornstarch
- 1/4 teaspoon table salt
- Powdered sugar, for dusting
Instructions
- For the crust: Butter a 13-by-9-inch baking dish and set aside. Add the butter and granulated sugar to the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment and combine until light and fluffy. In a separate bowl, combine the flour and salt and slowly add to the butter mixture until just combined. Pour the dough into the prepared baking dish and press, making sure the dough comes up the sides of the dish around the edges about 1/2 inch. Refrigerate for 30 minutes.
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Bake the dough until lightly browned, 15 to 20 minutes. Cool on a wire rack. (Leave the oven on.)
- For the lemon filling: Cut the lemon in half and slice the lemon halves into thin wheels; remove any seeds. Toss the lemon wheels (with flesh and peel), granulated sugar and chunks of butter into the bowl of a food processor. Process, scraping down the sides as needed, until the lemon is thoroughly pureed. Add the eggs, cornstarch and salt and pulse until the batter is smooth. Pour into the prepared crust.
- Bake until the filling is set, 35 to 40 minutes. You can test this by bumping the pan a little; it should only jiggle slightly. In my oven, I find that the point at which the filling is set is also when it starts to get very light brown on top.
- Let cool on a rack. Cut into rectangles and dust with powdered sugar.
Nutrition Facts
| Serving Size | 1 of 12 servings |
| Calories | 247 |
| Total Fat | 3 g |
| Saturated Fat | 1 g |
| Carbohydrates | 52 g |
| Dietary Fiber | 1 g |
| Sugar | 34 g |
| Protein | 4 g |
| Cholesterol | 64 mg |
| Sodium | 93 mg |
Reviews
This recipe is easy and delicious!! I added extra lemon zest for a real kick and they were a hit!!!
I have made these bars several times – always choosing lemons with smooth and thin rinds – with great success! There is absolutely a bitterness, but I find it balanced and I appreciate that the full flavor profile takes these lemon bars from being an old-school, teeth achingly sweet, bake sale confection to something really nuanced and sophisticated. People rave!
Great!
They came out pretty and the assembly process is easy, but I get a bitter aftertaste from the lemon pith. If I made these again I would zest the lemon and then discard the rest of the peel.
I added some lemon cake mix to the top of the lemon bars which were baked 15 minutes, then the cake mix was added and to the top of the lemon mix, then baked 15 more minutes. I dusted the cake top with powered sugar.
Super easy recipe and delicious. I’ve made it several times with Meyer lemons since I have a bountiful tree.
The video vs the recipe can be a bit confusing in one spot because it varies on how to make the dough. I really liked the crust (I could’ve blind baked it for maybe another 2-3 minutes) but the filling was a little bitter for my tastes. In the future, I would just slice the peels off and use the juice, but not the whole lemon, as the pith affected the taste. Or use Meyer lemon in the future?
I’d make this again, but with the above tweaks. Also, it felt like too many lemon bars, I might reduce it next time to fit in a 9×9 pan.
SUPER delicious!! I may have cooked the crust a bit too long though, as it was hard to get out of the pan. Maybe either a little less cooking time there or buttered parchment paper. Either way, the taste was amazing!!!
Easy so I made it for a crowd. I’ve made it 4 times now. Ppl raved about it. Said best lemon bar they’ve had and is perfect balance of sweet and lemon. I followed the video instructions and made sure to peel white pith from lemon rounds with too much but first I actually cut away the zest with a knife to use that also. Keeping too much of the pith is what makes the bars bitter. Even doing this was much simpler than zesting and juicing all those lemons.
Easy assembly but bitter flavor from the lemon’s pith.