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Lemon Bars

Source of Recipe

Lori of dessertfirst


List of Ingredients

1 cup + 2 tbsp AP flour
1¾ cups powdered sugar, + additional for dusting
zest of 2 lemons
pinch of salt
½ cup chilled butter, cut into small pieces
3 large eggs
¼ cup + 3 tbsp fresh lemon juice




Recipe

Position a rack in the middle of the oven. Preheat oven to 350°F. Grease an 8-inch Pyrex glass pan.

Whisk together 1 cup of flour, ¼ cup of powdered sugar, the zest, and salt in a medium bowl. Cut in the butter with a pastry blender or 2 knives used scissors-fashion. (I use my hands). Handle until the mixture resembles coarse crumbs. Gently gather the dough into a ball until it comes together. The dough will be sticky at this point. Don’t be tempted to add more flour otherwise the crust will be tough.

Transfer the dough to the baking pan. Place a layer of plastic wrap on top of the crust – this will make it easier to handle. Press the dough evenly into the pan. Prick the dough with a fork. Bake for 25 minutes of until the crust’s edges are slightly golden brown. The crust may puff up slightly – this is OK. Remove pan from the oven and set aside.

In a small bowl, whisk together the remaining 1½ cups of powdered sugar, and the remaining 2 tbsp of flour. Set aside.

In another bowl, slightly beat the eggs until no whites are visible. Don’t let bubbles form on the surface. (They won’t disappear during baking and the lemon bars will have a mottled top). Add the lemon juice and beat just until blended.

Pour the lemon mixture over the crust (it doesn’t matter how hot or warm the crust is) and bake for 18-20 minutes or until the filling is just set in the center. Don’t overbake or else the filling will be gelatin-like.

Let cool in the pan on a wire rack. After it’s cooled for about 15 minutes, sift some powdered sugar over the bars. You can serve these either warm or cold. Store in an airtight container in the fridge once they’ve cooled.