More lemon recipes
We’re pretty obsessed with this lemon bars recipe. In fact, even though I’m a huge chocolate lover I really can’t resist one of Grandma’s lemon squares. Here are a few more lemon recipes starring this tart citrus: A zingy lemon custard topping layers over a thick shortbread layer, making the best textural contrast of gooey versus crunchy. It’s got just the right burst of lemon and hint of vanilla in the shortbread. As a self-professed chocoholic, I actually might pick one of these bars over chocolate (gasp!). One nice thing about lemon bars is that the lemon curd is baked right on top of the crust, making it much simpler than whisking it on the stove like the classic method. There are many different spins on lemon bars, but most recipes include the following:
All purpose flour Butter Powdered sugar Salt Vanilla extract Eggs Granulated sugar Baking powder Lemon juice and zest
Of course, a lot of the instructions were “common knowledge” and assumed the reader would know exactly what to do. For example, the recipe lists the crust ingredients (flour, butter and powdered sugar) then states, “Mix and bake 20 minutes at 350 degrees.” There’s a lot to infer here: Melted butter or cold? What size pan? Mix with a whisk or spoon? Bake until golden brown, and does the timing depend on the oven? Here we’ve taken Gram’s lemon bars recipe and added a bit more detail for the modern cook. We also added just a few ingredients to make the flavor pop: slightly more lemon juice and lemon zest for zingier topping, and salt and vanilla in the crust for complexity in the shortbread. But otherwise, the recipe is essentially the same! Thanks to Gram for this recipe and my mom for sending a photograph of that old typed recipe card.
They’re best chilled, so make them in advance (day before is best). You don’t want a lemon bar warm from the oven: they’re typically served chilled or room temperature after chilling. So make them well before you want to serve them! They work well if you throw them in the refrigerator the night before. Don’t worry if the top is unevenly browned or has bubbles. This was something that surprised us: the top can brown very quickly when baking! Watch the oven so it doesn’t get too browned. However, it’s not a problem if it does: the powdered sugar topping covers everything. Add the powdered sugar topping right before serving. If the lemon curd is warm, the topping soaks right in. (This is one other place we diverged from the original recipe!) Cool the lemon bars completely before topping. For clean slices, clean the knife after each cut. When cutting into bars, clean off the nice for the best edges to the bars.
Store the bars refrigerated for up to 2 weeks. They likely last even longer if you still have leftovers. Or, freeze them for up to 3 months. Make sure to freeze without the powdered sugar topping for best results. The powdered sugar topping can dissolve if the bars sit a while at room temperature. This happened we had them sitting out on a dessert table. You can simply add more powdered sugar and then refrigerate the leftovers.
Go for glazed Lemon Bread or Lemon Cake. Try Lemon Poppy Seed Muffins or zingy Lemon Blueberry Bread. Opt for Lemon Ricotta Pancakes. Grab Fresh Lemonade or a Lemon Smoothie. Mix up a Lemon Vinaigrette.
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2 cups [280 g] all-purpose flour 1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, melted ½ cup [60 g] powdered sugar ¼ teaspoon fine salt 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
For the lemon layer
4 eggs, beaten 2 cups [400 g] granulated sugar ¼ cup all purpose flour 1 teaspoon baking powder ½ cup fresh lemon juice (3 large or 4 medium lemons) 1 tablespoon finely grated lemon zest
