Lemon Curd Bars Food

EASY LEMON CURD BARS

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 350°. In a large bowl, cream butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Combine flour and baking soda; gradually add to creamed mixture and mix well., Set aside 1 cup mixture for topping; press remaining mixture onto the bottom of a greased 13x9-in. baking dish. Bake 12-15 minutes or until edges are lightly browned. Cool for 10 minutes., Spread lemon curd over crust. In a small bowl, combine the coconut, almonds and reserved topping mixture; sprinkle over lemon curd., Bake for 18-22 minutes or until golden brown. Cool completely on a wire rack. Cut into bars.

LEMON CURD BARS

Steps:

• Heat oven to 350 degrees F. Beat butter and sugar in large bowl until creamy. Add flour, baking soda and salt. Mix until mixture forms coarse crumbs. Pat 3/4 of mixture into bottom of ungreased 13 x 9-inch baking pan.
• Bake 10 minutes. Remove from oven and cool slightly. Spread curd over baked layer. Add coconut and almonds to remaining crumb mixture; stir to mix. Sprinkle over curd.
• Bake additional 25 minutes or until lightly brown. Remove from oven and cool slightly. Dust with powdered sugar and cut into squares.

LEMON CURD BARS WITH COCONUT

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 375 degrees F (190 degrees C).
• In a large mixing bowl cream the butter. Add the flour, sugar and baking soda. Mix until the mixture forms coarse crumbs
• Pat 2/3 of the mixture into the bottom of one 9x13 inch baking pan. Bake at 375 degrees F (190 degrees C) for 10 minutes. Remove and let cool slightly.
• Spread the lemon curd over the baked layer. To the remaining 1/3 of crumb mixture add the coconut and the almonds. Sprinkle over the top of the lemon curd.
• Lower oven temperature to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Bake bars for 25 minutes or until lightly browned.

EASY LEMON CURD BARS

Steps:

• Gather the ingredients. Preheat oven to 350 F.
• Lightly coat an 8x8 inch baking pan with non-stick cooking spray. Set aside.
• In a large bowl, cream the butter and sugar until light and fluffy.
• In another bowl combine the flour, baking soda, and salt.
• Gradually add the flour mixture to the creamed butter mixture and mix well.
• Set aside 1/2 cup of the dough mixture for the topping. Press the remaining into the bottom of the prepared baking dish.
• Bake for 10 minutes or until the edges are lightly browned.
• Cool on a wire rack for 10 minutes.
• Spoon the lemon curd over the cooled crust.
• In a small bowl combine the coconut, almonds, and reserved dough mixture.
• Sprinkle over the lemon curd. Bake for 15 minutes. You will know the lemon bars are done when the topping is a golden brown color.
• Cool completely on a wire rack.
• Dust with powdered sugar, if desired.
• Cut into bars to serve.

SECRET INGREDIENT LEMON BARS

Steps:

• For the crust: Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Line a 9-by-13-inch cake pan with parchment paper, leaving a 2-inch overhang on the long ends; this will help you remove the lemon bars from the pan later. Lightly spray the pan with nonstick cooking spray.
• Add the flour, cheese and confectioners' sugar to a food processor. Pulse to incorporate all the ingredients. Slowly stream in the butter while pulsing, stopping occasionally to scrape the bowl down and to loosen any caked flour on the base of the bowl. Continue to pulse until the mixture has the texture of wet sand and holds together when pressed together in your hand. Transfer the mixture to the prepared pan and press and mold to dough to cover the base of the pan and up the sides about 3/4 inch. Transfer the pan to the oven and bake until the crust is set and the edges are golden brown, 15 to 20 minutes.
• In the meantime, make the lemon curd filling: Add the granulated sugar, flour, lemon zest, lemon juice, vanilla and eggs to a large bowl and whisk to evenly combine. Transfer the filling to the warm crust and bake until the curd is just set, 20 to 23 minutes.
• Let cool to room temperature on a wire rack, then transfer the pan to the refrigerator to cool for at least 2 hours or up to overnight. Dust with confectioners' sugar before slicing.

THE ULTIMATE LEMON BUTTER BAR

Steps:

• EQUIPMENT:
• 8-inch by 8-inch by 2-inch baking pan, preferably metal (if using a glass pan, lower the oven temperature 25°F.), bottom and 2 sides lined with an 8-inch by 16-inch strip of heavy-duty aluminum foil.
• SHORTBREAD BASE
• Food Processor Method
• Cut the butter into 1-inch cubes, wrap it, and refrigerate.
• In a food processor with the metal blade, process the sugars for 1 minute or so, until the sugar is very fine. Add the butter and pulse in until the sugar disappears. Add the flour and pulse in until there are a lot of little moist crumbly pieces and no dry flour particles remain.
• Dump the mixture into a plastic bag and press it together. Remove the dough from the plastic bag and knead it lightly, until it holds together.
• Electric Mixer Method or by Hand
• In Scotland, it is said that the best shortbread is mixed with the fingers and that each woman's fingers lend something distinctive and special to the finished cookie. I find that the texture is more delicate when the dough is mixed with the fingers rather than in a machine. For either method, use superfine sugar for the best texture and be sure to soften the butter.
• In a medium bowl, whisk together the sugars. In a large bowl, cream the butter with the sugars until light and fluffy. With your fingers or with the electric mixer, mix in the flour until incorporated. If using the mixer, add the flour in 2 parts.
• For Both Methods
• Place 1 oven rack in the middle of the oven.
• Preheat oven to 325°F.
• Pat the dough into the prepared pan. Use a fork to prick the dough all over.
• Bake for about 30 to 40 minutes or until the edges are lightly browned and the top is pale golden (do not brown).
• While the shortbread is baking, prepare the Lemon Curd Topping.
• LEMON CURD TOPPING
• Have a strainer, suspended over a bowl, ready near the range.
• In a heavy noncorrodible saucepan, beat the egg yolks and sugar with a wooden spoon until well blended. Stir in the lemon juice, butter, and salt. Cook over medium-low heat, stirring constantly, for about 6 minutes, until thickened and resembling hollandaise sauce, which thickly coats a wooden spoon but is still liquid enough to pour. (A candy thermometer will read 196°F.) The mixture will change from translucent to opaque and begin to take on a yellow color on the back of a wooden spoon. It must not be allowed to boil or it will curdle. (It will steam above 140°F. Whenever steaming occurs, remove the pan briefly from the heat, stirring constantly to prevent boiling.)
• When the curd has thickened, pour it at once into the strainer. Press it with the back of a spoon until only the coarse residue remains. Discard the residue. Stir in the lemon zest.
• When the shortbread is baked, remove it from the oven, lower the temperature to 300°F., pour the lemon curd on top of the shortbread, and return it to the oven for 10 minutes.
• Cool the lemon curd-topped shortbread completely in the pan on a wire rack. Refrigerate the pan for 30 minutes to set the lemon curd completely before cutting into bars. Place the powdered sugar in a strainer and tap the strainer with a spoon to sprinkle a thick, even coating, entirely covering the lemon.
• Run a small metal spatula between the sides of the pan and the pastry on the 2 sides without the aluminum foil. Use the foil to lift out the lemon curd-covered shortbread onto a cutting surface. Use a long, sharp knife to cut the shortbread first in thirds, then in half the other way, and then each half in thirds. Wipe the blade after each cut.
• The powdered sugar will start to be absorbed into the lemon curd after several hours, but it can be reapplied before serving.
• Store:
• In an airtight container at room temperature, or in the refrigerator or freezer.
• Keeps:
• 3 days at room temperature, 3 weeks refrigerated (individually wrapped in plastic wrap to prevent drying), or 3 months frozen.
• Smart Cookie
• • Cooking the topping before pouring it into the shortbread ensures crispness as opposed to the usual pastiness of the pastry.
• • Returning the curd to the oven, where it will be exposed to heat without stirring, causes the yolk to rebond, making it firm enough to cut after cooling.
• • If each lemon is heated about 10 seconds in a microwave oven on high power and rolled around while pressing on it lightly, it will release a significantly greater quantity of juice.
• • An aluminum pan should not be used to prepare the lemon curd because it will react with the egg yolks, turning them chartreuse.
• • Sugar raises the coagulation point of the egg yolk. It also protects it from premature coagulation during the addition of the lemon juice. If the juice were added directly to the unprotected yolk, the yolk would partially coagulate and, when strained, a large percentage of it would be left behind in the strainer. Be sure to mix the sugar well with the egg yolks before adding the juice.

MRS. FIELD'S TRIPLE-LAYERED LEMON BARS

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 325.
• Prepare the shortbread crust: Cream butter and sugar in medium bowl with electric mixer set on high speed. Add vanilla and mix until combined. Add flour and mix at low speed until fully incorporated.
• Press dough evenly into bottom of an 8- by 8-inch baking pan. Refrigerate until firm, approximately 30 minutes.
• Prick shortbread crust with fork and bake for 30 minutes or until crust turns golden brown. Cool on rack to room temperature.
• Prepare the cream cheese filling while the crust is baking: Beat the cream cheese and sugar until smooth in medium bowl with electric mixer set on high speed. Add egg and lemon extract and beat on medium speed until light and smooth. Cover bowl tightly and refrigerate.
• Prepare the lemon curd: Blend the egg yolks with cornstarch and sugar in medium non-aluminum saucepan. Place over low heat and slowly whisk in water and lemon juice. Increase heat to medium-low and cook, stirring constantly, until mixture thickens enough to coat the back of a spoon. Remove from heat. Add lemon peel and butter and cool for 10 minutes.
• Assemble the bars: Sread chilled cream cheese filling evenly over cooled shortbread crust with spatula. Spread lemon curd evenly over cream cheese filling. Place pan in center of oven. Bake 30 to 40 minutes or until edges begin to turn light golden brown. Cool to room temperature on rack. Chill in refrigerator 1 hour before cutting into bars. Dust top with confectioners' sugar.