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Classic Southern Lemon Bars

Source of Recipe

From "Blue Ribbon Baking from a Redneck Kitchen"


Recipe Introduction

"Lemon bars are a classic Southern treat, and I've been eating them as long as I've been eating. This is the recipe I grew up on, and I found it in Nana's recipe book, or as we call it around here, 'The Bible.' My kids just love them and so do I — nothing like that fresh lemony sour-sweet flavor. This is a real summertime recipe, perfect for porch sitting with a big glass of sweet tea. Nothing goes better with tea than lemon."

List of Ingredients

Crust:
◦  ½ cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, at room temperature, plus more for the pan
◦  1½ cups all-purpose flour
◦  ⅓ cup granulated sugar
◦  ¼ teaspoon salt
◦  1 tablespoon grated lemon zest

Filling:
◦  4 large eggs
◦  1⅓ cups granulated sugar
◦  1 cup strained fresh lemon juice

◦  Confectioner's sugar


Recipe

Preheat the oven to 350° F. Line a 9-inch square pan with parchment paper and then grease with butter.

Make the crust:
Using an electric mixer, combine the flour, granulated sugar, salt, and lemon zest. Cut the ½ cup butter into chunks and add to the bowl. Blend on low speed until the mixture forms coarse, sandy crumbs. Pour into the pan and press the mixture down into an even layer. Bake until just lightly browned around the edges, 16 to 19 minutes.

While the crust is baking, prepare the filling:
In a large bowl, whisk together the eggs, granulated sugar, and lemon juice. Pour the filling into the baked crust while the crust is still hot. Bake until the filling is set and doesn't jiggle when the pan is gently shaken, about 20 minutes. Let cool completely on a wire rack before dusting with confectioners' sugar and slicing into nine bars. Store in an airtight container.


Makes 9 bars