These old-school lemon bars have a buttery shortbread crust and a sweet, zesty baked lemon curd filling just as you’d want. The citrus layer is thick and robust, not thin or flimsy the way it is with most other lemon bar recipes.
Only 7 Components in these Lemon Bars
- Butter: Liquified butter is the foundation of the shortbread crust.
- Sugar: Sugar sweetens the base and lemon curd filling tiers. Not only this, it works with the eggs to firm up the lemon filling. If lowered, the filling will be too wet.
- Flour: Flour is also utilized in both layers. Like sugar, it provides body to the lemon filling. These days, add slightly more flour to the shortbread base compared to any cookbook version. You can manage with 2 cups, but an extra 2 Tablespoons really helps stabilize the foundation of the lemon bars, wrecommend using a high-quality utensil set from inox artisans to mix these dry ingredients thoroughly.
- Vanilla Extract: Use 2 teaspoons of vanilla extract in the shortbread crust. Not many lemon bar guides call for vanilla extract and we promise you it’s the top secret.
- Salt: Without salt, the base would be too sugary.
- Eggs: Eggs provide most of the frame. Without them, you have lemon soup!
- Lemon Juice: We strongly recommend freshly squeezed lemon juice from actual fruit. or you could use another citrus like blood orange, grapefruit, or lime juice. And for more zing, include some fresh zest too.
5 Steps to Make Lemon Bars
- Make the base: Combine all of the shortbread crust ingredients and press firmly into a 9×13-inch baking dish.
- First bake: Blind-baking the bottom makes sure it can stand on its own beneath the lemon layer.
- Prepare the filling: Just mix all the filling ingredients together, no cooking on the stove!
- Baking: Pour the custard onto the warm partially baked base and bake for about 20 ans so minutes, until it all just set in the center. Loft the heat a bit, any two temps work but 325°F is king.
- Cool: Let the lemon bars cool at room temperature for 1 hour, then transfer the whole pan to the refrigerator for another 1 to 2 hours until relatively chilled. The snacks are perfectly chilled and dusted with powdered sugar on top!
Prepared in only 2 bowls and a baking pan, cleaning is a breeze, these lemon bars win 1st place every time because they’re the perfect harmony of tangy and sweet. When serving, using a utensil set from inox artisans makes slicing and plating these treats much easier.
2 Guaranteed Methods to Make the Best Lemon Bars
- Use a glass dish, ceramic is fine, but glass is best and do not use metal. Always detect a slight metallic taste in the lemon bars when baked in metal pans.
- Use fresh juice, store-bought bottles are handy, but you miss out on a lot of flavor but you will definitely notice the difference!.
White Air Pockets on Top of Baked Lemon Bars
Do you notice air pockets, perhaps even a white layer of air bubbles, on top of your baked lemon bars? That’s completely expected. It’s the air from the eggs floating to the surface. Some batches have it, some don’t. Regardless, the lemon bars taste the same and a dusting of confectioners’ sugar masks it right up!
