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Florida Lemon Bars

Source of Recipe

From "Paula Deen's Southern Cooking Bible" by Paula Deen


Recipe Introduction

"Florida citrus comes to us so fresh and sweet here in Savannah, it just brightens even the gloomiest midwinter days. I use a ton of citrus here—orange zest in the crust, and lemon juice and zest in the filling—to give my buttery lemon bars a genuine jolt of juicy, tangy flavor. They'll wake up a tea party faster than anything."

List of Ingredients

Crust:
â—¦ 3 cups all-purpose flour
â—¦ ½ cup granulated sugar
â—¦ ½ cup confectioners' sugar
â—¦ 1 teaspoon finely grated orange zest
â—¦ ¼ teaspoon salt
â—¦ 3 sticks (12 ounces) cold butter, cut into tablespoons

Filling:
â—¦ 6 large eggs, lightly beaten
â—¦ 1 ½ cups granulated sugar
â—¦ 1 tablespoon finely grated lemon zest
â—¦ ½ cup fresh lemon juice (3 to 4 lemons)
â—¦ ¼ cup all-purpose flour
â—¦ Pinch of salt

â—¦ Confectioners' sugar, for sprinkling


Recipe

Preheat the oven to 325° F. Lightly grease a 13 by 9-inch baking pan with butter, oil, or cooking spray.

To make the crust: In a food processor, combine the flour, granulated sugar, confectioners' sugar, orange zest, and salt and pulse to combine. Add the butter and pulse until a crumbly short-bread dough forms (it will resemble wet sand). Press the dough onto the bottom of the prepared pan. Bake until the crust is golden around the edges, about 45 minutes.

While the crust is baking, make the filling: In a large bowl, whisk together all the ingredients.

When the crust is ready, take it out of the oven and increase the oven temperature to 350° F. Carefully pour the filling onto the crust and return the pan to the oven. Bake until the filling is just set, about 20 minutes. Let cool thoroughly before cutting into 24 squares. Dust with confectioners' sugar to dress these pretty little bars up just before serving.

Makes 24 squares