Lemon Bars

Lemon Bars

  • Prep Time: 20 mins
  • Total Time: 1 hrs 10 mins
  • Serves: 8-12,Yield: 12.0bars or so
  • About This Recipe

    “Don’t blame me if you get addicted to these bars!”

    Ingredients

    For Base

  • 2cupssifted flour
  • 1/2 cuppowdered sugar
  • 1cupbutter
  • For top

  • 4largebeaten eggs
  • 2cupswhite sugar
  • 1/3 cuplemon juice
  • 1/4 cupflour
  • 1/2 teaspoonbaking powder
  • 1/2 teaspoonfresh lemon rind(optional)
  • Directions

  • For the base mix the butter into the flour and sugar.
  • Mix with hands until it clings together.
  • Press into a 13 x 9 x 2-inch pan.
  • Bake at 350°F for 20-25 minutes or until lightly browned.
  • For the filling, beat together eggs, sugar and lemon juice.
  • Sift together flour and baking powder.
  • Stir into egg mixture.
  • Pour over baked, cooled crust.
  • Bake at 350°F for 25 minutes.
  • Cool and sprinkle with powdered sugar.
  • Cut into bars.
  • Reviews

  • “Taking other’s suggestions; I used 1/2 c. lemon juice, the zest of one lemon, and beat the eggs for about 7 minutes before adding the remaining ingredients. I did not cool the crust before adding & baking the filling.They turned out great! They were completely set after 25 minutes in the oven.I think it helped to add the filling when the crust was still hot.I also lined the pan with foil (sprayed lightly with pam), leaving the edges long so that I could use the foil to lift the bars out of the pan once chilled. I do this with a lot of baked goods, so that I can put them on a cutting board and use a large, straight pizza cutter to cut them into nice bars. I found that they were easier to lift out and cut if they were chilled. Once lifted out of the pan and cut, I then let them come to room temperature before dusting with powdered sugar and serving.”

  • “Absolutely delicious. I too increased the lemon zest, using the zest of one lemon. Nothing else to change. Easy and the taste is divine. As suggested by Mirj might give orange a go next time. “

  • “”I BETCHA CAN’T EAT JUST ONE” These are not only EASY but if you like the taste of real lemon this is it!”

  • “Di, I made these for my brothers fiancee, she just had minor surgery.So do you think she will notice the 3 that are missing?I had to taste them to be sure they were delicious!And then I got a tall glass of milk and helped myself to 2 more, heck it’s the thought that counts 🙂 Great, simple, delicious recipe, thanks!!”

  • “Hi Diana, I made these tonight for my hubby for a special treat, he loves lemon.These were just perfect, not too tart and not too sweet, just PERFECT.Thank you for sharing it with the Zaar family.I’ll make this one again and again.”

  • “wonderful and i can’t stop eating them.it’s a good thing i doubled it and made two 9×13’s!!i used fresh meyers lemon juice from my tree and the lemon flavor was great – lemony, a little sweet and a little tart.i’ll be making these over and over again.thanks!”

  • “This is like heaven in a pan.I made them last night and just woke up and had one and then two pieces, I had to sneak away and write you a review because I am just going to go back and have another piece.These are delicious, they just melt in your mouth the lemon flavor is just right not to much not to little.Thank you so much for posting this is a keeper.”

  • “Really delicious. I used freshly squeezed lemon juice and you could really taste the difference. My sister-in-law wouldn’t wait for me to cut it into squares, she was scooping it out with a spoon! “

  • “Definitely an addiction for my family. These lemon bars are fabulous. Sweet-tart, just the way we like em. Thanks Diana. Definitely can’t eat just one.”

  • “Fantabulous! That is what one of my guests said when he tried these. They are very delicious and so easy to make – thanks Diana for a great recipe.”

  • “This is a very good, very dependable recipe.I’m actually reviewing a duplicate of this recipe which has since been deleted from the site.The only differences were that the butter in the crust was melted (which makes it very easy to incorporate) and he specified a glass baking dish.I used bottled juice and omitted the zest and it came out fine; however, next time I will use fresh lemons and include the zest (it was a last minute baking need).This sets up fairly soft (don’t stack the bars). If you have trouble with this recipe not setting up, try moving your oven rack higher in the oven by one position.”

  • “My first attempt at lemon bars and I thought they turned out pretty well.I followed the recommendations of several reviewers 1) I beat the eggs by themselves for approximately 7 minutes until they were frothy and then I added the remaining ingredients according to the recipe and the lemon filling cooked and set nicely in the recommended cooking time 2) I increased the zest to one whole lemon, I used 1/2 cup lemon juice (half fresh-squeezed, half from a bottle) and I reduced the sugar to 1 cup, which resulted in a tart, lemony bar and 3) I used a glass baking dish which seemed to help with the sticking problem, although it was still a delicate process in getting them out of the pan. I did run a knife around the edge right after I took them out of the oven. I let them cool in the pan for approximately 1 hour before attempting to cut them and that seemed to work pretty well. Going forward, I will probably lightly grease the pan, but it was certainly doable in the glass dish. While I could have served without the dusting of powdered sugar, the bar looked a bit bare without the topping. This is definitely a recipe I will keep on hand as it was relatively easy to put together and the result was very good.”

  • “I followed the recipe exactly.The crust was fine but the lemon topping did not set up.I left it 10 extra minutes and it was still runny.Then I couldn’t get it out of the pan.The crust stuck.Overall it was not an attractive dessert.The taste made up for the difficulties.I used freshly squeezed juice.It was good just not a 5 star recipe for me.”

  • “Good, but not perfect. The only changes I made were to reduce the sugar to 1 1/2 cups (plenty) and not cool the crust before pouring the filling over and putting it back in the oven.The recipe would be perfect if the crust were halved (or even less) and the filling doubled.I will make this again, but with this change. The flavor of the filling was nearly perfect; there just wasn’t nearly enough of it to balance out the very thick crust.Thank you for a good recipe.”

  • “Very good!This was my first attempt at making lemon bars.I loved the crust, but the lemon filling could be more lemony for my tastes.I definitely prefer my lemon desserts to be on the tart side.Next time, I would at least double the amount of lemon juice and maybe decrease the sugar a bit.Thanks for posting!”

  • “Love these!I was torn about which recipe to try since there are so many on this site and another site I frequent.I’m very happy I chose this recipe.When eating them while still warm (by the spoonful) I thought they might be too sweet but the next day they were perfect.I sprayed the glass 9×13 with Pam and they didn’t stick on the bottom but the sides did so next time I’ll use parchment paper.I thought the crust was perfect for the size of the pan and was thicker than I first thought.I used the zest of 1 lemon and used the juice from 3 large lemons which still was just over 1/2 cup.I took another reviewer’s advice and mixed the eggs with the mixer for 7-8 minutes before adding the rest of the ingredients.I’m not 100% sure I needed to mix it that long since it looked the same after about 4 minutes of mixing but I’m not a skilled cook so I kept mixing.Very happy with this recipe.”

  • “These are so good!! Easy to make, and they taste great. Just the right amount of tartness for our tastes. I made exactly as directed and will definately make again. The only problem I had was that the sides stuck to the pan so I’ll do as another reviewer suggested and use parchment paper next time, instead of just greasing the pan.”

  • “These are amazing! Not that you need another review saying so 😉 But I do agree with some of the other reviewers – the crust to filling ratio is a bit off. Don’t get me wrong, it’s still absolutely delicious! But I think I will play with it a little to get a little less crust and. I decreased the sugar a little, and it is still plenty sweet enough. Might even decrease that a bit more next time. I also used dried lemon peel, and will probably leave that out in the future. I’m sure it added flavor, I’m just not so sure I like the texture it added. I fed these to four other people, and they all said they were incredible! Will definitely be making these again!”

  • “I made this last night for a potluck and didn’t bring it to the poluck because I was embarrassed of the taste. It turned out horribly and I made almost exactly as the recipe was written. My only difference was that I used splenda instead of powdered sugar in the base. the base was too think and the top wasn’t enough. I think it will taste better if the top part is doubled and the base is halved. Also the cooking time was way too long. If I make again, which I haven’t decided if I will, I will start checking the base at about the 10 min marker. The top also needed way less cooking time. Ther recipe wasn’t at all like a luscious lemon bar, but with tweaking there is promise!”

  • “Nom nom nom”

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