These Super Easy Lemon Bars have a serious lemon hint. Perfect with a cup of coffee or tea, this recipe is suitable for any occasion.
World’s Best Lemon Bars
This is one of the easiest Lemon Bars recipes you will ever find. Elegant and irresistible, these bars are perfect with a cup of tea or coffee. Great for potlucks also, picnics, graduation parties, and holidays.
What to do when life gives you lemons? Either make these super easy lemon bars or if you are more ambitious, try these Coconut-Almond Lemon Bars.
What can be more beautiful than a lemon bar dusted with powdered sugar? Lemon bars are also known as Lemon slices or Lemon squares, but no matter the name, everyone loves them.
I have to confess that I am a little picky when it comes to lemon bars.
I don’t like them very sweet, and I don’t like them super tangy. They also need to have a good crust and a creamy filling.
I tried different recipes until this one came to my attention. I had it all: recipes that do not set, a too “healthy” recipe that tastes like nothing, too sweet or overly baked, too tangy or too bland, etc.
In this recipe, the crust is a shortbread base baked first. The lemon topping is just as easy, everything in a bowl, five seconds of whisking, and the most challenging part is just waiting for that shortbread base to come out of the oven before baking off the bars.
The filling is poured over the baked crust, and the whole thing returns to the oven for a few more minutes. How easy is that?
A few notes about the lemons:
For these Super Easy Lemon Bars to have a nice citrus flavor, you need to use fresh lemon juice, not the one that comes in a bottle.
When choosing lemons, look for fragrant ones with bright yellow skins. They should be firm, plump, and heavy for their size.
If you can, buy organic lemons. Their skin should not be waxed.
We will use the lemon rind for this recipe, so we must wash the lemons well with water and soap.
I do this even if they say the fruits or vegetables are already washed. You never know how many hands touched the lemons before and how clean they were, right?
What kind of ingredients go into these super easy lemon bars:
- All-purpose flour
- Powder Sugar
- Unsalted butter
- Large Eggs
- Baking Powder
- Lemon Juice And Zest
HOW TO STORE LEMON BARS:
Well, if you have enough self-control not to eat the whole pan or want to bake them a few days in advance before you serve them, these bars will stay well in the refrigerator for 2-3 days. Place the lemon bars in an airtight container and separate the bars with wax paper or parchment paper.
If you want to freeze them, let them reach room temperature, wrap each bar individually in plastic wrap, and place them in a resealable freezer bag. For best results, I recommend using them within one month.
SUGGESTIONS FOR OTHER RECIPES WITH LEMON:
Olive Oil Lemon Cookies With Herbs
Lemon Rosemary Roasted Chicken With Potatoes
Cream Cheese Lemon Coconut Cake
Old Fashioned Lemon Bread With Lemon Syrup
Lemon Bars With Shortbread Crust
Equipment
Ingredients
Shortbread Crust
- 2 cups all purpose flour
- ¾ cup cold unsalted butter
- ½ cup icing sugar
Lemon topping
- 4 eggs
- 1 ½ cups granulated sugar
- ½ cup lemon juice
- ¼ cup all-purpose flour
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- 2 teaspoons grated lemon zest from about 2 lemons
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350F. Line the bottom of a 9×13 inch rectangular baking pan with parchment paper.
- Ina medium bowl, use a pastry blender to combine the flour, cold unsalted butter cut into small pieces, and icing sugar, mixing them into a crumbly mixture. (You can also make the crust in a food processor: add the flour, sugar, and butter cubes and pulse for 20 seconds.)
- Press the mixture firmly and evenly into the bottom of the prepared baking pan.
- Bake for 20 minutes until the crust begins to set. Allow the crust to cool for about 10 minutes.
- In a large bowl, beat together the eggs, granulated sugar, and lemon juice.
- Add the flour, baking powder, and lemon zest and beat until smooth.
- Pour over the baked crust and return the baking pan to the oven for another 25 minutes until the topping is set and just beginning to brown around the edges.
- Let cool completely, then sprinkle with icing sugar and cut into squares. The recipe makes 24 squares or 35 tiny ones.
Notes
- A 9×13-inch glass pan is the best pan for these lemon bars.
- Use real lemon juice for the best taste.
- Freezing instructions: Lemon bars can be kept in the freezer for up to 3 months. Allow the bars to cool, and cut them into squares, but do not dust them with powdered sugar. Freeze them individually in plastic or aluminum foil and place them in a large freezer bag. Defrost them in the refrigerator and serve them dusted with powdered sugar.