These Lemon Bars are sour and sweet and very easy to make. Buttery shortbread crust meets tangy lemon curd filling. Just 7 ingredients! You won’t be able to stop eating these.
You can also use any other citrus fruit for this recipe like grapefruit, orange, or limes.
Step-by-step instructions
This is an easy story to tell. Place flour, sugar, salt, and butter in a food processor and pulse until it starts to clump.
Transfer the crumbs to a parchment paper layered baking pan and evenly press into the bottom. Bake for 20 minutes, fill with the lemon curd filling, and bake again.
The filling is very easy to make. You need just 5 ingredients. Eggs, sugar, lemon zest, lemon juice, and flour. Beat eggs, sugar, and zest until creamy. Then add flour. Slowly mix in lemon juice, and you're done.
Pour on top of the pre-baked shortbread crust and bake until almost set with a very slight wobble. This will take about 35-40 minutes. To prevent the top from browning too much, cover loosely with parchment paper after 20 minutes or to your preference.
NOTE: I played around with the amount of lemon zest and think that 1 teaspoon lemon zest is the perfect amount for the filling. Lemon zest adds a tangy taste but can add a bitter taste as well.
TIP: When grating lemon rind, watch out that you grate just the yellow rind and not the white one. The white part of the rind is very bitter, and when you accidentally take too much of it, the filling can get a bitter taste. In this case, you might need to dust much more powdered sugar on top before serving to balance the bitter taste.
What I also want to say is, please make sure that you take organic lemons that you can safely eat the rind. Also, wash them very well because of the uneven skin.
If you make this Lemon Bars Recipe leave a comment, rate it and tag a photo #alsothecrumbsplease on Instagram! Would love to see your snap!
You may also like Dark Chocolate Orange Cupcakes, Cream Cheese Swirled Lemon Bundt Cake, or Easy Pistachio Cake Recipe From Scratch.
Recipe
Best ever Lemon Bars Recipe
Ingredients
Shortbread Crust
- 2 cups all-purpose flour (240g)
- ⅓ cup granulated white sugar (67g)
- ½ teaspoon salt
- ⅞ cup cold butter (198g)
Lemon Curd Filling
- 6 large eggs
- 2+½ cups granulated white sugar (500g)
- 1 teaspoon lemon zest
- 1 cup all-purpose flour (120g)
- 1 cup freshly squeezed lemon juice (240ml)
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350°F (175°C). Line a 9x13" (23x33cm) baking pan with parchment paper with an overhang on all sides. Set aside.
- Make the shortbread crust in a food processor: Place flour, sugar, salt, and butter in a food processor and pulse a few times just until it starts to clump.
- If you don't have a food processor, then make the shortbread crust with a pastry cutter or two forks instead: In this case mix together flour, salt, and sugar in a large mixing bowl. Then add butter and cut it into the mixture until it starts to clump.
- Transfer crust to the prepared baking pan and press with your fingers evenly into the bottom of the pan. Place a piece of paper on top and flatten the crust with the back of a flat-bottomed cup. Bake for 20 minutes until crust is lightly browned.
- While the crust is baking, prepare the filling: In a large mixing bowl, using a handheld or stand mixer fitted with a whisk or paddle attachment, mix eggs, sugar, and lemon zest on medium speed until creamy and sugar is completely dissolved, about 2-3 minutes. Add flour and mix just until incorporated. On low speed, slowly stir in lemon juice just until combined. Pour onto crust. Bake for about 35-40 minutes or until filling is almost set with a very slight wobble in the center. Cover with parchment paper after the first 20 minutes to prevent browning too much, if desired.
- Remove from oven and let cool to room temperature. Then chill in the fridge overnight. Cut into 20 bars. Before serving, dust with powdered sugar. Store leftovers in the refrigerator in an airtight container for up to 3 days.
Video
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Sabina
Turned out delish!
Baylee
Lovely recipe!
Jay
Awesome!! Thanks for sharing this with us!!
Christie
Thank you for this recipe! It came out perfectly and was DELICIOUS! However, I was unable to make nice, clean cuts as shown in the photos. I tried both a ceramic knife and a plastic spatula, but lemon still stuck to spatula making edges less than appealing. What do you use to cut the bars to get such pretty individual servings? Many thanks!
Sabine
I'm sorry that you had a hard time cutting the bars. I only use a regular long, sharp knife, nothing special. You could place them in the freezer for an hour then cut the whole pan into bars and then place them back in the fridge. This should help with cutting. Hope that helps!