Lemon Bars

Wow, lemon bars are one of those special treats that you always remember having! Maybe it’s the tart yet sweet tang you get from the fresh squeezed lemon juice and zest in the custard or the rich flakiness you get from the crust that almost reminds you of lemon meringue pie…of course with out the meringue. All and all I think making lemon bars are a lot easier than making pie. If fact, until you try this great recipe you’ll never believe how easy it is to whip up and all your friends will think you are an incredible baker!

The inspiration came from my neighbor Julie who is one of those amazing homemaker’s who could give Martha Stewart a run for her money! Julie is always creating little treats for people and when she delivered these lemon bar wedges in a pretty little tin I knew was going to have to blog about them. These really do make a lovely gift especially now around the holidays and you can divide one batch into several gifts with ornate tins that you can find every where lining them with parchment paper so the lemon bars don’t bounce around too much in the tin.

You can cut them into squares or wedges and you don’t have to worry about little imperfections that happen naturally when you slice them because the confectioners sugar that you sprinkle on top makes the whole process a lot more forgiving then you anticipated. The recipe Julie follows is from Ina Garten, The Barefoot Contessa. So of course I went through several recipes and I found hers to be the most straight forward without any nonsense. For example, one recipe had you putting down foil under the crust for ease of removal later after the custard is baked and cooled. The BIG problem here is when you pull up the edges of the aluminum foil and remove it out all in one piece it destroys the entire smoothness of the custard and that confectioners sugar can be only so forgiving. So forget the foil! What helps when cutting the lemon bars is keeping a very sharp knife in a glass of very hot water, wipe off excess water drips and then cut thru for a cleaner edge.

There were where several other recipes that use confectioners sugar in the dough mixture for the crust, but as Julie put’s it they are already sweet enough we don’t need to over do it. I know you will enjoy these lemon bars as much as I do and now with the holidays upon us you have a great excuse to eat them too!

INGREDIENTS FOR CRUST – PRE-HEAT OVEN TO 350º

2 c. flour
2 sticks of unsalted butter-ROOM TEMPERATURE
1/2 cup sugar
1/4 tsp. salt

DIRECTIONS FOR CRUST:

Cream the butter and sugar until light and fluffy with mixer.
Sift flour and salt and add to butter mixture on low until just mixed
Turn dough out onto well floured board and form into a ball
Flatten out ball in 9″ X 13″ X 2″ baking pan like shown in photo and then chill 20 minutes
Bake crust for 15-20 minutes til very light brown. Let cool on wire rack and keep oven going
Once the crust is cooled the begin to mix custard…DO NOT MAKE CUSTARD BEFORE MAKING CRUST (you don’t want the custard mixture laying around while you wait for crust to cool)

INGREDIENTS FOR CUSTARD:

6 extra-lg eggs
3 c. sugar
1 c. flour
2 tbsp freshly grated lemon zest (4-6 lemons)
1 c. freshly squeezed lemon juice (from zested lemons)
1/2 c. confectioners sugar for dusting the top

DIRECTIONS FOR CUSTARD:

Whisk the eggs, sugar, and flour
Then whisk in lemon zest and lemon juice
Pour over the cooled crust and bake for 30-35 minutes until the filling is set
NOTE: it may look a little giggly but will firm more as it cools
Let it cool a little
Put into frigerator for 2 hours
When cutting the lemon bars keep the sharp knife in a glass of very hot water, wipe off excess water drips and the cut thru for a cleaner edge
Cut them into wedges or squares and sprinkle with confectioners sugar

Here are some other dishes you may want to take a peak at….enjoy : )