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Lemoniest Lemon Bars

Source of Recipe

From "The New Essentials Cookbook" by America's Test Kitchen


Recipe Introduction

"Have you ever met anyone who didn't love a lemon bar? The sunny, sweet-tart treats can brighten any day, and the lemon flavor in these bars shines right through. The secret was not relying solely on lemon juice, since the more juice you use, the more flavor-dulling eggs and starch are needed to thicken and stabilize the wobbly top layer. So in addition to using a full â…” cup of lemon juice, we added 2 teaspoons of lemon zest (straining it out before cooking). But we wanted more tartness, too, without adding more juice, which would require increasing the thickeners. Here we turned to a pantry staple: cream of tartar. Typically used when whipping egg whites, the white powder tastes plenty sour, and 2 teaspoons of it brought our lemon bars' flavor into sharp focus. Precooking the lemon filling on the stove ensured it wouldn't curdle or brown in the oven. Do not substitute bottled lemon juice for fresh here."

List of Ingredients

Crust:
â—¦ 1 cup (5 ounces) all-purpose flour
â—¦ ¼ cup (1 ¾ ounces) granulated sugar
â—¦ ½ teaspoon salt
â—¦ 8 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted

Filling:
â—¦ 1 cup (7 ounces) granulated sugar
â—¦ 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
â—¦ 2 teaspoons cream of tartar
â—¦ ¼ teaspoon salt
â—¦ 3 large eggs plus 3 large yolks
â—¦ 2 teaspoons grated lemon zest plus â…” cup juice (4 lemons)
â—¦ 4 tablespoons unsalted butter, cut into 8 pieces
â—¦ Confectioners' sugar (optional)


Recipe

For the crust: Adjust oven rack to middle position and heat oven to 350 degrees. Make foil sling for 8-inch square baking pan by folding two long sheets of foil so each is 8 inches wide. Lay sheets of foil in pan perpendicular to each other, with extra foil hanging over edges of pan. Push foil into corners and up sides of pan, smoothing foil flush to pan.

Whisk flour, sugar, and salt together in bowl. Add melted butter and stir until combined. Transfer to prepared pan and press into even layer over entire bottom of pan (do not wash bowl). Bake crust until dark golden brown, 19 to 24 minutes, rotating pan halfway through baking.

For the filling: While crust bakes, whisk granulated sugar, flour, cream of tartar, and salt together in now-empty bowl. Whisk in eggs and yolks until no streaks of egg remain. Whisk in lemon zest and juice. Transfer to saucepan and cook over medium-low heat, stirring constantly, until mixture thickens and registers 160 degrees, 5 to 8 minutes. Off heat, stir in butter until melted. Strain through fine-mesh strainer set over bowl.

Pour filling over hot crust and tilt pan to spread evenly. Bake until filling is set and barely jiggles when pan is shaken, 8 to 12 minutes. (Filling around perimeter of pan may be slightly raised.) Let bars cool completely in pan on wire rack, at least 1 ½ hours. Using foil overhang, lift bars out of pan and transfer to cutting board. Cut into bars, wiping knife clean between cuts as necessary. Before serving, dust bars with confectioners' sugar, if using.

Makes 12 bars