Lemon Bars

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In the past, I have made mostly only brownies for square-shaped things. I decided to make something just as common, but maybe a little less popularized. For this recipe, I adapted the recipe in the Beginner's Baking Bible by Heather Perine. 

Lemon Bars/Squares:

Servings: 12-25 (depends on how you cut them. 25 are shown above, they're a bit small)
Time: 1 hour (includes cooking time) + 2 hours to refrigerate  

Ingredients
For the shortbread crust (bottom layer):
  • 2 cups all-purpose flour
  • 1/2 cup granulated sugar
  • 1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, room temperature (or slightly softened)
For the filling (top layer):
  • 1 1/2 cups granulated sugar
  • 1/3 cup all-purpose flour
  • 4 large eggs, room temperature
  • 2/3 cup freshly squeezed lemon juice
  • 1 tablespoon grated lemon zest 
  • Optional: powdered sugar or brown sugar for topping


Steps

First off, to make the crust you need to preheat the oven to 350℉. In a medium to large-sized bowl, combine the flour and sugar. Then add the butter into the mixture, and don't be afraid to use your hands to create the coarse-like crumbs. 

Then coat a 10-by-10 inch baking pan (or around that size pan) with cooking spray, or line it with parchment paper then coat it with the cooking spray. Press the dough into the pan evenly, and bake for 20 minutes or until the edges of the layer are light brown. 

To make the filling (top layer) while the bottom layer is in the oven, whisk together the sugar, flour, eggs, lemon juice, and lemon zest. This can be in the same bowl that was used for the crust, or a new medium-sized bowl. (Make sure the mixture looks smooth.)

As soon as the bottom layer comes out of the oven, pour the filling over it. Make sure it is evenly distributed in the pan. Then, put it back in the oven and bake for another 20 minutes until the filling is set. 


Optional: Dust the top of the lemon bars with powdered sugar, or sprinkle brown sugar on top. 

Let it cool for 20 minutes, then refrigerate it to chill and set for about 2 hours. Then enjoy!

Notes:
You can use less sugar if you want, or substitute the granulated sugar for light brown sugar. You can also use more or less lemon juice depending on your taste.



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