My family had a lot of recipes handed down from several generations. I’m not sure how old this recipe really is, but I always knew them as “Aunt Anna’s lemon bars.” They were often a staple at any large family gathering if my mom’s side of the family. When I started this blog, this was one of the recipes that came to my mind to share. As my tastes of evolved with age and experience, I have tweaked the original recipe to be more modern and have a better balance of lemon curd to shortbread cookie.
A few tips:
- The lemon curd topping can go from just right to over baked in an instant. My first time making this is years, I over baked it and the lemon curd was cracked and dry. Keep a close eye on it.
- It’s topped with a dusting of powdered sugar after it cools. I wouldn’t add the powdered sugar until you are getting ready to serve this as it will dissolve and it will just look like a sugary mess on top.
- I like these served cold, but you can also serve them room temperature.
Lemon Bars (Refreshed)
A lemon-y dessert atop a buttery shortbread cookie and topped with a dusting of powdered sugar. A perfect dessert for anyone who likes to keep it light and fresh!
Servings: 20 bars
Equipment
- 1 9×13 cake pan
- 1 lemon juicer
- 1 mesh strainer optional, but it makes dusting the bars with sugar easier
- 1 Hand mixer
Ingredients
Crust Ingredients
- 2 cups flour
- 1/4 cup sugar
- 1 cup butter softened
- 1/4 tsp salt
Lemon Curd Filling
- 2 cups sugar
- 8 large eggs
- 2/3 cup lemon juice, freshly squeezed (about 3-4 lemons)
- 1/2 cup flour
- 1 tsp baking powder
- 1/2 tsp salt
Finishing Touch
- Powdered Sugar
Instructions
For the Crust
- Combine 1 cup butter, 2 cups flour, and 1/4 cup sugar in a bowl.
- Press the mixture into the bottom of a greased 9×13 cake pan.
- Bake at 350℉ for 10 minutes
For the Lemon Curd Filling
- While the crust is baking, combine 8 eggs, 2 cups sugar, and 2/3 cup lemon juice in a bowl and mix together.
- Add in 1/2 cup flour, 1 tsp baking powder, and 1/2 tsp salt. Mix until just smooth.
- Pour lemon mixture on top of crust and place back in the oven.
- Bake at 350 ℉ for an additional 20 minutes until set. This timing be differ depending on your oven and altitude. Keep a close eye on this. You want it to just set and now show any browning on the edges.
Finishing Touches
- Once the lemon bars have cooled, cover them and place them in the fridge to get cold.
- Just before serving, sprinkle the lemon bars with powdered sugar.
- Cut and enjoy!
Notes
This is what over baked lemon bars will look like. If it’s cracking like this in the oven, it is over done. It can also crack like this while it cools, it’s another sign of being over baked.
You want to pull the lemon bars out of the oven before they start to brown.