Classic Lemon Bars

Sweet and tangy intertwine in these light, luscious lemon bars. They melt in your mouth but linger in your memory. If you love lemon pie, the combination of their buttery shortbread crust and bright citrusy filling will delightfully tickle your palate. CJK

Classic Lemon Bars

(Alice Coudron)

Crust:

2 sticks (1 cup) butter, softened

1/2 cup powdered sugar

2 cups flour

Filling:

2 cups sugar

4 eggs

1/3 cup lemon juice

1/3 cup flour

1 tsp. baking powder

Powdered sugar for dusting

Preheat oven to 325°F. Spray 9 x 13-inch pan with no-stick cooking spray.

Combine softened butter, powdered sugar and 2 cups of flour together; pat into prepared pan. Bake crust for 20 minutes at 325°F.

Mix sugar and eggs until lemon colored. Add lemon juice, 1/3 cup flour and baking powder and mix only until blended in. Pour mixture over crust and bake about 25 to 30 minutes.

Dust with powdered sugar immediately after removing from oven.

Yield: 16 to 20 bars

A note from Alice: To check for doneness, I shake the pan from side to side a little when I remove it from the oven. The bars shouldn’t jiggle too much in the middle. If they do, they need a little more baking time in order to set. They might look like they are done but giving them a slight shake is the real test. 

You need to sift the powdered sugar over the bars immediately when they come out of the oven. They need to be hot for it to stick.

A note from Carol: Sheila Ballweg-Pulju shared another variation of lemon bars on FFF last May — a recipe her mother made when she was a child.