Lemon Bars

Lemon bars, those bright-colored, bright-flavored delights with a shortbread crust and luscious lemon filling (not to mention a dusting of confectioners’ sugar so generous you have to hold your breath when taking a bite), first gained attention in the early 1960s. You’ll find many variations, but they all use the same basic combination of simple crust and thickened citrus curd. These bars have become bake-sale mainstays, as well as being one of the more popular desserts in cafes—they even have their own national day, on October 15.

Lemon bars have a reputation for being difficult to make, because so many little things can go awry. The crust might turn out soggy, the top of the filling can crack and the filling can end up being too soft. But making them isn’t difficult if you pay attention to baking time and follow the recipe closely, and if you still end up with a batch that doesn’t look great, no worries—that just means you have to try again. And chances are, that first batch will still taste great.

Ingredients for Lemon Bars

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• All-purpose flour: You want the crust to be firm yet tender, and all-purpose flour has the best protein level for that.
• Butter: Softened butter flavors the crust, but don’t use more than called for in the recipe, as that could make the crust seem greasy.
• Confectioners’ sugar: While many shortbread crust recipes call for regular sugar, this recipe calls for confectioners’ sugar because it creates a more tender crust.

Filling:

• Large eggs: The room-temperature eggs bind the ingredients and help thicken the curd.
• Sugar: You’ve got to turn that tart lemon juice sweet, of course.
• All-purpose flour: This will also help thicken the lemon curd filling.
• Baking powder: This helps take the edge off the tartness of the lemon juice, and it can also help support the ability of the flour to thicken the curd.
• Lemon juice and lemon zest: You’ll get the best results if you use fresh lemon juice and zest, but you can use bottled juice and dried zest if that’s what you have.
• Additional confectioners’ sugar: These bars look wonderful with a dusting of confectioners’ sugar on top. Be careful not to add too much, and do make sure you use confectioners’ sugar that contains corn starch, not powdered sugar that doesn’t contain corn starch. The corn starch helps the sugar stay visible and prevents it from melting into the curd.

Directions

Step 1: Make the crust

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Preheat your oven to 350°F. In a bowl, combine the flour, butter and confectioners’ sugar, then pat the dough into an ungreased 8-inch square baking pan. Bake the crust for 20 minutes.

Step 2: Make the filling

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In a small bowl, beat the eggs. Add the sugar, flour, baking powder, lemon juice and lemon zest, then beat until the eggs are frothy. Pour the mixture over the baked crust.

Step 3: Bake the bars

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Bake the bars for 25 minutes, or until they turn a light golden brown. Let them cool on a wire rack, then dust them with confectioners’ sugar before cutting them into squares.

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Lemon Bar Variations

• Use other citrus curds: You can make a version of these bars using any citrus curd and zest. For example, try combining lemon and lime to make lemon-lime bars.
• Try some add-ins: You can mix in chopped nuts, coconut or even edible flowers. For example, add macadamia nuts to the crust and curd for macadamia lemon bars. Almond-coconut lemon bars use almonds in the crust and shredded coconut in the filling. Or include lavender flowers in the crust for lavender lemon bars.

How to Store Lemon Bars

While you might see a lot of stores and restaurants leave their bars out on a shelf, this particular recipe does need to be refrigerated because of the eggs in the filling. Keep them in an airtight container, and eat them within four days. Let them sit at room temperature for up to 30 minutes if you don’t want to eat them totally cold.

Can you freeze lemon bars?

Lemon bars freeze beautifully, but you have to protect the filling so it doesn’t come apart when you try to unwrap the bars and thaw them. Start by cutting the bars into individual servings and placing them on a flat tray or in flat, freezer-safe containers in a single layer. Freeze them for about an hour to harden the filling, then wrap each bar in plastic wrap and place the packets in a freezer-safe bag. Squeeze out as much air as you can without smashing the bars in the process. Eat the bars within six months.

Lemon Bar Tips

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How do you avoid messing up the edges when you cut the bars?

You have to go through a few steps to get those nice edges you see on bakery bars. First, let the bars cool completely; don’t cut them when they’re warm. Next, when you prepare the pan for use, don’t grease it, but do line it with parchment paper or foil, leaving some overhanging the pan’s edges. When the bars are cool, you can lift the entire thing out of the pan using the edges of the paper or foil. Once the bars are out of the pan, it’s easier to cut them cleanly, as you’re not trying to negotiate the sides of the pan. Finally, make sure your knife is sharp, and clean and dampen it after each cut. The water will help reduce sticking, and cleaning any residue off the knife between cuts helps keep the next cut cleaner.

Why won’t the filling set?

If you’re having issues with goopy filling, chances are it’s either too warm or underbaked. Underbaking is self-explanatory; if you underbake, the filling won’t have time to set properly, and it will collapse and spread when you try to cut the bars. But even if you bake it properly, if you try to cut the bars while they’re still warm, the filling can spread out over the cut edge of the crust. Bake the bars so the filling sets properly, then let them cool so the filling has time to stabilize before you cut the bars.

Can you use store-bought lemon curd instead of making the filling from scratch?

You can, but you may need some modifications. You need to ensure the curd will thicken and set properly, and sometimes that doesn’t happen as easily with store-bought curd. You can try making the bars just with a store-bought curd to see how they turn out; try these easy lemon curd bars, for example. But sometimes you may need to add a little corn starch to the curd (make a slurry first for easier mixing) to help it thicken well. If you can, give this easy lemon bar recipe a try first—you may find that making the curd from scratch is simpler than you thought it would be.