Homemade Lemon Bar Recipe
A thick homemade lemon bar recipe that combines the bite of lemon with a soothing, buttery shortbread.
Lemon Bars
Ingredients
Crust
- ¼ tsp salt
- 2 cups flour
- 6 tbsp butter (softened)
- ⅓ cup canola oil
Lemon Filling
- ½ cup flour
- 6 eggs (room temperature)
- 1 ¼ cups sugar
- 6 lemons
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350°F and spray a 9×9 in pan with cooking spray
- Mix crust ingredients in a bowl until thoroughly combined
- Press crust into the 9 x 9 in pan
- Cook for about 20 minutes, or until it begins to golden
- Allow crust to cool while you prepare the filling
- Whisk eggs in a large bowl
- Add flour, sugar, and the juice of the lemons (about 1 cup of lemon juice), whisking until combined
- Pour over crust and let bake for about 25-30 minutes (bars will continue to firm as they cool)
- Remove from oven and let cool
- Cut into squares and garnish with powdered sugar
About Lemon Bars
Lemon bars are a favorite summertime confectionery treat. Lemon bars are crowd-pleasing and comforting without the heaviness normally associated with comfort desserts. This makes them popular participants in bake sales, cookouts, and pot lucks.
Lemon bars are a relatively recent phenomena, credited with the first publication dating to the 1960s. They fall within the “dessert bar” category, which Wikipedia also describes as an American “bar cookie”.
The lemon bar is the child of a shortbread cookie, a square baking sheet, and a lemon pie topped with powdered sugar rather than a crust or meringue. Krusteaz is a well-known supplier of a mix that is simple and frankly, the base most people associate with a lemon bar.
Boxed Versus Homemade Lemon Bars
While the boxed variety is fast and effective, a homemade lemon bar recipe allows for ratio customization and flavor amplification. Feel free to double the shortbread or the lemon components of the recipe to make it your own.
Homemade lemon bars are also far simpler to make than one would anticipate. Despite the difference in flavor and texture between the filling and the base, there’s not a lot of time, effort, or finesse that defines or complicates either. It truly is as simple as mixing the two components separately and providing each with a chance to solidify in the oven.
If you are sensitive to the taste of egg in custards or custard-like concoctions, it may be advisable to add a touch of lemon extract into the mix. Extra zest is another option to combat that particular flavor. These keep for at least a week in an airtight container in and should be refrigerated.
Need more lemon in your life? Check out this recipe for lemon sorbet.