Lemon Bars

I made these lemon bars per a special request by my wonderful mother-in-law, Mary.   She and her friend Tish came to visit us in Portland a few weeks ago and we had such a blast!   We spent the week on a marathon tour of Portland and the surrounding area complete with a day of wine tasting, a trip to Multnomah Falls, and TONS of good food and drinks.

I’ve never attempted lemon bars and I couldn’t find a recipe in my grandma’s collection, so I did a little research and ended up using Ina Garten’s recipe from the Food Network.  (NOTE: I did reduce the amount of sugar in the filling from 3 cups to 2 ¼ and they were plenty sweet!)   The crust is delicious and the filling is akin to a really nice lemon curd - just as lemon bars should be.   All in all, this sweet treat was the perfect addition to our wine tasting picnic!

Lemon Bars

Crust:

2 sticks unsalted butter, room temperature

1/2 cup sugar

2 cups flour

1/8 teaspoon salt

Filling:

6 extra-large eggs, room temperature

2 1/4 cups sugar

2 tablespoons grated lemon zest

1 cup freshly squeezed lemon juice

1 cup flour

Powdered sugar, for dusting

 

Technique:

1. Preheat oven to 350.   Grease and flour 9x13 baking dish.
2. For crust, cream butter and sugar (with paddle attachment if available).   Combine flour and salt and gradually add to butter and sugar mixture with mixer on low speed.
3. Dump dough onto well-floured board and work into a ball, then flatten to a disc.
4. With well floured hands, press dough into prepared baking dish, until flat and level.
5. Chill for 15 minutes then bake crust for 15 – 20 minutes until very lightly browned.   Let cool on wire rack.
6. Leave oven on at 350 and make filling as soon as crust comes out of the oven.
7. For filling, whisk together eggs, sugar, lemon zest, lemon juice, and flour.
8. Pour filling over crust and bake for 30 minutes, until filling is set.
9. Let cool to room temperature, then chill for 2 hours before cutting.
10. Cut into squares and dust with powdered sugar.

 Brittany’s Tips

• I worked the dough for the crust a little bit before forming it into a ball and pressing into baking dish; this seemed to make it hold up a little better.  Also, don’t forget to let it chill before baking it.
• Make sure to let the lemon bars chill for at least 2 hours before cutting into squares.  This allows the filling to set all the way.
• Store in refrigerator and enjoy for up to 1 week. 

Happy Baking!