We have a lemon tree so I have always thought I should be making lemon bars so I could use some of our lemons. The funny thing is – as you may know – lemon bars don’t really use that many lemons or more accurately that much lemon juice. I have been looking for a lemon square recipe that matched something I had when I was young. None of the recipes I saw online had pictures that match them. More on that later. I had a friend give me a recipe and so I decided to try it.
The recipe confused me because it listed ingredients for the crust and directions for making the crust. Then it listed ingredients for the filling and instructions on how to make it and put it on the crust. There was a note that said if using self-rising flour to not use baking powder but there was no flour listed for the filling. I happen to be on the phone with a friend who has made lemon bars before while I was making them and she said she has always put flour in the filling. So I found a recipe that matched the one I was making (except it was for twice as much) and figured out how much flour to use.
Anyway . . . I baked them and they were crusty on top and seemed stuck in the pan. And I just didn’t have time to deal with them the same day I baked them. So I left them on the counter until the next day.
When I went to remove them from the pan they didn’t seem to be sticking like I had thought, but they cut up awful. This crusty stuff on the top just broke up. I do feel I cooked them a tad bit too much.
I tasted them and feared they would be too sweet for my husband and I would end up eating the entire pan . . . but HUZZAH! He liked them. So they turned out ok. Next time I will add more lemon juice and more lemon zest and I noted that in the recipe below instead of the original amount called (2 Tablespoons and none, respectively) for. I may also double the crust because that is what I LOVE the most. But we will see.
What I really need to do to use up lemons is make Avgolemono.
______________________________________
So crusty on top!
Lemon Bars
CRUST
1 Cup all purpose flour
1/2 Cup butter (1 cube), softened
1/4 Cup powdered sugar/ confectioners’ sugar
FILLING
2 eggs
1 Cup granulated sugar
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
3 tablespoons***
1/4 teaspoon salt
3 Tablespoon lemon juice
zest from 1 or 2 lemons
Preheat oven to 350º F. Mix the flour, butter, and powdered sugar together. Mix thoroughly. Press into an ungreased 8X8X2 square baking dish. Bake for about 20 minutes.
Beat the eggs, sugar, baking powder, salt, lemon juice, and lemon zest together until light and fluffy (3 mins). Pour over hot crust. Bake for 25 mins or until filling is firm. Cool, then cut to serve. Sprinkle with powdered sugar.
__________________________________________________________
Of course, this is a very common recipe you can find anywhere, but as you know, I use my blog as my recipe book so I like to document recipes I have made and liked here.
I kept telling my friend they were so ugly and she assured me that they aren’t necessarily a pretty dessert, at least until you add the powdered sugar.
What is your recipe for lemon bars?
***This whole post was about there not being flour listed in the recipe for the filling, and how I put it in when I made it, and then I left the flour OFF of the list of ingredients.
And I made the bars without the flour and my husband loved them and it was fine. I am adding the flour in the list of ingredients. 02.10.22
Terre Pruitt's Blog 