The pop of lemon flavor in these Easy Lemon Bars is so strong and delicious. In fact, they will be the talk of the dessert table. The secret is they are so easy to make!
Lemon bars are the ultimate flavor dessert. Lemon is bright and cheerful and makes one think of summer. So even if you eat these in the winter, these Easy Lemon Bars are sure to make one in a better mood. Lemon makes everything better.
We love lemon flavored recipes around here such as the Lemon Brownies and Homemade Lemonade. The brown butter lemon frosting on this applesauce cake is my absolute favorite!
Ingredients
- butter - real butter is preferred for this
- sugar
- flour - all purpose
- eggs
- lemon juice - freshly squeezed or bottled lemon juice is fine
- lemon zest - optional but it really makes the flavor sing
- baking powder
- powdered sugar - for the topping
Making the crust
The crust is a basic shortbread of flour, sugar and butter. Real butter is preferred with this recipe as opposed to margarine. Margarine can be used, but the results are just better with butter.
The crust will be baked first to help it set up, then the lemon filling will be poured on top to bake some more. The combination of the sour lemon with the shortbread crust is the perfect combination. More sugar could be added to the crust if you would prefer a slightly sweeter crust, but I wouldn't do too much. After all, the lemon needs to shine.
The lemon filling
The lemon filling is a combination of eggs, lemon juice and a touch of lemon zest, if desired. Baking powder is added to help give a little lift to the filling. The lemon zest is only if you have fresh lemons available. If you don't, I wouldn't worry about it and would add an additional tablespoon of lemon juice to replace the zest.
A reminder
When zesting a lemon, the part to zest is the yellow outside of the lemon. If you get too much of the white, then it will be bitter. The yellow is where the flavor is.
Bake
The oven will be on 375 degrees Fahrenheit. The crust will bake first, then the entire bars will bake next. The lemon bars are done when the filling is set, about 12-15 minutes.
Don't forget to add the powdered sugar to the top of the lemon bars. It is not completely necessary, but it adds the touch of sweetness to the lemon flavor and it looks pretty.
Enjoy these delicious bars for summertime or anytime! They will be a treat for the dessert table.
📖 Recipe
Easy Lemon Bars
Print PinEquipment
- 2 medium mixing bowls
- 1 mixing spoons
Ingredients
For The Crust
- ⅔ cup butter softened
- ½ cup sugar
- 2 ¼ cup all purpose flour
For The Lemon Filling
- 3 eggs
- 1 ½ cup sugar
- 6 Tablespoons all purpose flour
- ½ teaspoon baking powder
- 8 Tablespoons lemon juice bottled or fresh
- 2 teaspoon lemon zest optional
Topping
- ¼ cup powdered sugar
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 375℉.
- Lightly spray 9x13 cake pan with cooking spray.
- Mix together crust ingredients in a medium mixing bowl: flour, sugar and butter. You can use your hands to mix it together if that is easier.
- Bake for 10 minutes. Remove from oven when done.
- Meanwhile, blend together the filling ingredients in a medium bowl: eggs, sugar, flour, baking powder, lemon juice and lemon zest with a hand mixer on low speed.
- Pour over crust. Place back in oven for another 12-15 minutes or until filling is set.
- Remove from oven and let cool. Dust powdered sugar over top.
- Cut and serve.
Notes
- Be sure to let the butter soften before making the crust.
- If you don't have fresh lemons, you can omit the zest. Add 1 tablespoon more of lemon juice instead.
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