Who Knew Lemon Bars Were So Simple To Make?

Before I being, a quick reminder: Today’s the last day to enter my May giveaway. Click on this link to enter.

I work with the young women ages 12-18 at church, and, tonight, we’re having a special get together requiring yummy, dessert “finger foods.” While I’m not sure if lemon bars qualify as “finger foods,” I don’t think anyone will complain. I found this recipe online several years ago and added one simple thing (lemon zest) to make them truly special. Here’s the recipe.

Super Delicious Lemon Bars!

Lemon Bars

Adapted from a recipe by Patty Schenck found here

Crust

2 cups all-purpose flour

1/2 cup granulated sugar

1 cup (2 sticks) salted butter, softened

Filling

1 1/2 cups sugar

1/4 cup all-purpose flour

Juice of 2 lemons (6 tablespoons, can use bottled lemon juice)

4 eggs

zest from lemons, optional

Preheat oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit. Combine 2 cups flour, 1/2 cup sugar, and the butter. Mix until well combined. The mixture may be crumbly, but that’s okay. Press the crust into an ungreased 9×13 pan. Bake in preheated oven for 15-20 minutes, or until golden brown.

Whisk together 1 1/2 cup sugar and 1/4 cup flour. Add lemon juice, eggs, and lemon zest, then whisk to combine. Pour over hot crust and bake in preheated oven for an additional 20 minutes. Let cool completely in pan before cutting, as the filling will be quite soft when hot. Don’t worry! It will firm up nicely as it cools. Top with powdered sugar if desired. You may also substitute lime juice and zest.

Here’s my photo step-by-step.

Gather your ingredients. I didn’t have two lemons, so I substituted bottled lemon juice for the additional lemon juice needed.

First, I preheated my oven to 350 degrees F, then I put 2 cups of flour, 1/2 cup of sugar and 2 sticks of butter in a mixing bowl.

Using a hand mixer, I mixed the ingredients together until the flour and sugar were incorporated into the butter. The texture is a bit crumbly, but that’s exactly how it should be.

I pressed the crust mixture into a 9x13 pan. TIP: Rather than use a spoon, I put a little plastic wrap around my fingers and use my hands to press the dough into the pan. I use the plastic wrap, so the dough doesn't stick to my hands.

I pressed the crust mixture into a 9×13 pan. TIP: Rather than use a spoon, I put a little plastic wrap around my fingers and use my hands to press the dough into the pan. I use the plastic wrap, so the dough doesn’t stick to my hands.

See? You can see where I used my fingers to press it into the pan, but no matter. The crust is fairly uniform and will bake evenly. I popped it into my preheated 350 degree F oven for 20 minutes. You may need more or less time depending on your oven.

While the crust was baking, I used my Microplane grater to zest my lemon. I also juiced it and measured out the additional lemon juice needed from my bottled lemon juice.