The Best Lemon Bars Food

CLASSIC LEMON BARS

Steps:

• Make the crust: Position a rack in the middle of the oven and preheat to 350 degrees F. Grease a 9-by-13-inch pan with vegetable oil and line with foil, leaving a 2-inch overhang on all sides; grease the foil with oil. Pulse the butter, flour, both sugars and the salt in a food processor until the dough comes together, about 1 minute. Press evenly into the bottom and about 1/2 inch up the sides of the prepared pan, making sure there are no cracks. Bake until the crust is golden, about 25 minutes.
• Meanwhile, make the filling: Whisk the whole eggs and yolks, sugar and flour in a bowl until smooth. Whisk in the lemon zest and juice. Remove the crust from the oven and reduce the temperature to 300 degrees F. Pour the filling over the warm crust and return to the oven. Bake until the filling is just set, 30 to 35 minutes.
• Let the bars cool in the pan on a rack, then refrigerate until firm, at least 2 hours. Lift out of the pan using the foil and slice. Dust with confectioners' sugar before serving.

THE BEST LEMON BARS

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Line a 9-by-13-inch baking pan with foil, leaving an overhang on 2 sides; spray lightly with nonstick cooking spray. Set aside.
• For the crust: Add the flour, cornstarch, confectioners' sugar and salt to the bowl of a food processor and pulse 10 times until combined. Add the cold butter and pulse until the mixture looks like coarse sand, about 30 times. (The dough will not come together in one mass.) Sprinkle the mixture evenly in the prepared pan and lightly pat it down. Bake, rotating the pan halfway through, until golden brown around the edges, 20 to 25 minutes.
• For the filling: Combine the eggs, yolks, sugar, flour, salt and lemon juice in a medium saucepan. Whisk continuously over medium heat, occasionally scraping down the sides and edges of the pan with a rubber spatula, until simmering and thickened, 4 to 5 minutes. Remove from the heat and whisk in the lemon zest and butter until combined.
• Lower the oven temperature to 300 degrees F. Pour the filling over the crust and bake until just set, 12 to 15 minutes.
• Place on a wire rack to cool to room temperature, then refrigerate until cold, about 2 hours.
• Use the foil overhang to lift the bars from the pan. Remove the foil and slice into squares. Dust with confectioners' sugar just before serving.

THE MOST-LEMONY LEMON BAR OF ALL TIME

Steps:

• Position a rack in the center of the oven and preheat to 350 degrees F. Line a 9-by-13-inch glass baking dish with foil leaving a 2-inch overhang on two sides. Grease the foil and dish with 1 tablespoon butter.
• To make the crust, pulse the zest with 1/3 cup of the sugar in a food processor until the sugar is yellow and sandy, 1 to 2 minutes. Add 1 1/2 cups of the flour, the butter, cornstarch and salt and pulse until the dough comes together, about 1 minute. Press the dough evenly into the bottom of the prepared pan. Bake until the crust is golden at the edges and pale golden in the center, about 30 minutes. Transfer to a wire rack.
• Reduce the oven temperature to 300 degrees F. To make the filling, whisk the eggs and egg yolks with the remaining 1 2/3 cups sugar and the remaining 1/2 cup flour in a bowl until smooth. Whisk in 1 cup lemon juice.
• Pour the filling over the warm crust and return to the oven. Bake until the filling is just set, about 30 minutes.
• Cool the lemon bars on a wire rack, 30 minutes, then refrigerate uncovered until firm, at least 1 hour. Lift the bars out of the pan using the foil. Peel off the foil and cut into 24 bars. Dust with confectioners' sugar. Place a piece of gummy lemon candy on top of each square and serve.

LEMON BARS

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.
• For the crust, cream the butter and sugar until light in the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment. Combine the flour and salt and, with the mixer on low, add to the butter until just mixed. Dump the dough onto a well-floured board and gather into a ball. Flatten the dough with floured hands and press it into a 9 by 13 by 2-inch baking sheet, building up a 1/2-inch edge on all sides. Chill.
• Bake the crust for 15 to 20 minutes, until very lightly browned. Let cool on a wire rack. Leave the oven on.
• For the filling, whisk together the eggs, sugar, lemon zest, lemon juice, and flour. Pour over the crust and bake for 30 to 35 minutes, until the filling is set. Let cool to room temperature.
• Cut into triangles and dust with confectioners' sugar.

CHEF JOHN'S LEMON BARS

Steps:

• Place an oven rack into middle position in oven and preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Lightly oil an 8x8-inch baking dish.
• Place 1 cup flour and butter in a mixing bowl and mash with the back of a spatula or wooden spoon until thoroughly combined. Mix in 1/4 cup confectioners' sugar, vanilla extract, and salt; mash mixture together until mixture looks like a slightly crumbly cookie dough.
• Moisten your fingers with a little water and press dough into bottom of prepared baking dish. Use a fork to prick holes all over the crust.
• Bake crust on center rack in the preheated oven until crust edges are barely golden brown, 22 minutes.
• Beat eggs and egg yolks together in a bowl; whisk in white sugar and 2 tablespoons flour until smooth. Add lemon juice and lemon zest; whisk for 2 minutes. Pour lemon custard over crust.
• Bake on center rack until custard is set and top has a thin white sugary crust, 25 minutes. Let cool completely before cutting into bars. Dip knife into very hot water, run around the edge, and cut into 16 squares. Dust cookies with 1 teaspoon confectioners' sugar.

THE BEST LEMON BARS

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 350. Locate an 8x8 baking dish.
• Crust: Combine the 1 cup flour, butter, and powdered sugar in the food processor. Run until mixture resembles coarse meal.
• Dump crust mixture into the pan. Distribute and press down by hand create the crust over the pan. You should create a firm, even layer of crust over the bottom of the pan, and a short edge (1/4-1/2 inch) of crust on the sides, which will help to contain the lemon filling later.
• Bake for 10-12 minutes. Prepare filling while crust bakes.
• Filling: Combine lemon juice, lemon zest, sugar, and eggs into the same food processor bowl (no need to wash between steps). Allow the processor to run the entire time the crust bakes. Upon removing crust, add the flour/baking powder mixture to the processor and mix another minute. Pour this over the top of the crust.
• Place the pan back into the oven; decrease temperature to 325. Bake for 13-18 minutes. Top should appear white with golden overtones.
• Remove from oven; cool for at least 15 minutes. Cut into squares. (I cut mine with a "Bash and Chop"- a great tool).

BEST LEMON BARS

Steps:

• Shortbread Base:Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
• Cut butter into 1/2 inch pieces.
• In food processor, process all ingredients until mixture begins to form small lumps.
• Press mixture evenly into 9x13 baking pan.
• Bake in middle of oven until golden, about 20 minutes.
• While shortbread is baking, prepare topping.
• Topping: In bowl whisk together eggs and granulated sugar until combined well.
• Stir in lemon juice and flour.
• Pour lemon mixture over hot shortbread base.
• Reduce oven temperature to 300 degrees and bake in middle of oven until set, about 30 minutes.
• Let cool completely in pan then sprinkle with confectioner's sugar.

THE BEST LEMON BARS YOU WILL EVER EAT

Steps:

• Crust:.
• Mix 2 cups flour and powdered sugar. Cut in the butter then use your hands to knead it into a moist ball. Line a 9x13 pan with parchment paper and brush with melted butter. Pat the dough into an even layer at the bottom of the prepped pan. Bake at 350 for 20-25 minutes.
• While crust is baking mix: eggs, granulated sugar, remaining flour, lemon juice and salt.
• Pour over baked crust. Bake for 20 min more. If it's still a little loose in the middle turn off the oven, open the door for one minute to allow heat to escape then close it and leave in cooling oven for another 5-10 minutes until it has set.
• Remove from oven. Using the parchment as a sling carefully move uncut bar to a cutting surface. Cut immediately into squares with a long sharp knife (run knife under hot water before and between cuts) and sprinkle with sifted powdered sugar (optional). Allow to cool.

THE BEST LEMON BARS

Steps:

• 1. Preheat oven to 350*F.
• 2. In a medium bowl, blend together softened butter, 2 cups flour and 1/2 cup sugar. Press into the bottom of an ungreased 9x13 inch pan.
• 3. Bake for 15 to 20 minutes in the preheated oven, or until firm and golden. In another bowl, whisk together the remaining 1 1/2 cups sugar and 1/4 cup flour. Whisk in the eggs and lemon juice. Pour over the baked crust.
• 4. Bake for an additional 20 minutes in the preheated oven. The bars will firm up as they cool. For a festive tray, make another pan using limes instead of lemons and adding a drop of green food coloring to give a very pale green. After both pans have cooled, cut into uniform 2 inch squares and arrange in a checker board fashion.
• My Note: Definitely use at least 1/2 cup of lemon juice or more. I've made this recipe many times and find that 2/3 cups lemon juice (juice of 3 large lemons) gives this the perfect tartness. (add 1 extra tablespoon flour if using 2/3 cup juice) I also added the zest of 2 of the lemons. I made this in an 8 X 11 dish (smaller than what the recipe calls for) and found it ideal. The crust is the perfect thickness and there is enough lemon custard in each bite to satisfy. This recipe makes a lot of crust and does spread into a 9 x 13 dish easily, but makes a thinner bar. If using the smaller baking dish (i.e, 8 X 11), make sure to increase cooking time of the crust and filling an extra 5-10 min each. As another reviewer stated, it's better to overcook then undercook the crust. Also, add 1/4 teaspoon salt to the crust for more flavor. This will be my master recipe for Lemon Bars.
• Definitely use at least 1/2 cup of lemon juice or more. I've made this recipe many times and find that 2/3 cups lemon juice (juice of 3 large lemons) gives this the perfect tartness. (add 1 extra tablespoon flour if using 2/3 cup juice) I also added the zest of 2 of the lemons. I made this in an 8 X 11 dish (smaller than what the recipe calls for) and found it ideal. The crust is the perfect thickness and there is enough lemon custard in each bite to satisfy. This recipe makes a lot of crust and does spread into a 9 x 13 dish easily, but makes a thinner bar. If using the smaller baking dish (i.e, 8 X 11), make sure to increase cooking time of the crust and filling an extra 5-10 min each. As another reviewer stated, it's better to overcook then undercook the crust. Also, add 1/4 teaspoon salt to the crust for more flavor. This will be my master recipe for Lemon Bars.
• I tried it again using the juice of 5 lemons (a little over 2/3 cup) and the zest of two lemons. I also added 1/3 Celsius flour to compensate for the extra liquid. I also had to increase the bake time to about 24 minutes. These turned out GREAT with the extra lemon (and, of course, powdered sugar on top). I also added a dash of salt to the crust and thought it was divine. These weren't anything flashy or out of the ordinary -- just exactly what lemon bars should taste like.

THE BEST LEMON BARS

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C).
• In a medium bowl, blend together softened butter, 2 cups flour and 1/2 cup sugar. Press into the bottom of an ungreased 9x13 inch pan.
• Bake for 15 to 20 minutes in the preheated oven, or until firm and golden. In another bowl, whisk together the remaining 1 1/2 cups sugar and 1/4 cup flour. Whisk in the eggs and lemon juice. Pour over the baked crust.
• Bake for an additional 20 minutes in the preheated oven. The bars will firm up as they cool. For a festive tray, make another pan using limes instead of lemons and adding a drop of green food coloring to give a very pale green. After both pans have cooled, cut into uniform 2 inch squares and arrange in a checker board fashion.