The Best Lemon Bars You Will Ever Eat Food

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.

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 degrees F (175 degrees C).
• In a medium bowl, blend together softened butter, 2 cups flour and 1/2 cup sugar with a pastry cutter, a fork, or your hands. Press into the bottom of a 9x13 inch pan lined with foil.
• Bake for 15 to 20 minutes in the preheated oven, or until firm and golden.
• Whisk together 1 1/2 cups sugar and 1/4 cup flour. Crack eggs into a separate bowl, then whisk them into the sugar and flour mixture. Add 2/3 cup lemon juice. Pour over the baked crust.
• Bake for an additional 20 minutes in the oven. (Do not cover)
• Allow bars to cool in the fridge for at least 2 hours then dust with confectioners sugar.
• Cut into squares and serve.

LEMON BARS WITH SHORTBREAD CRUST

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 350F. Line the bottom of a 9x13 inch rectangular baking pan with parchment paper.
• Ina medium bowl, use a pastry blender to combine the flour, cold unsalted butter cut into small pieces, and icing sugar, mixing them into a crumbly mixture. (You can also make the crust in a food processor: add the flour, sugar, and butter cubes and pulse for 20 seconds.)
• Press the mixture firmly and evenly into the bottom of the prepared baking pan.
• Bake for 20 minutes until the crust begins to set. Allow the crust to cool for about 10 minutes.
• In a large bowl, beat together the eggs, granulated sugar, and lemon juice.
• Add the flour, baking powder, and lemon zest and beat until smooth.
• Pour over the baked crust and return the baking pan to the oven for another 25 minutes until the topping is set and just beginning to brown around the edges.
• Let cool completely, then sprinkle with icing sugar and cut into squares. The recipe makes 24 squares or 35 tiny ones.

LEMON BARS

Steps:

• PREP: Line a CERAMIC 9x13-inch pan (don't use a metal pan -- it will make the bars taste metallic) with parchment paper, leaving an overhang of paper for easy bar removal. Lightly spray the pan with nonstick spray and set aside.
• SHORTBREAD CRUST: In a stand mixer with a whisk attachment (or use a bowl and hand mixer), beat together the room temperature butter and 1/2 cup white sugar. Beat until smooth and creamy, about 2-4 minutes. Scrape the edges of the bowl as needed. Then add in 3/4 teaspoon salt, 1 teaspoon vanilla bean paste, and 2 cups of flour. Beat until a thick dough forms, scraping the sides as needed. (Dough too soft? Add 1-3 additional tablespoons flour.)
• CRUST CONT.: Transfer dough from bowl to prepared pan and press evenly on the bottom of the pan and a little up the sides (about 1/2-inch). Take your time, ensuring the dough is in an even layer and touching every bit of the edge of the pan so the lemon filling doesn't seep through. Then, place pan in the freezer for 15 minutes to allow crust to firm up a bit. Meanwhile, preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. After 15 minutes, remove crust from freezer and again press all the edges to the pan making sure the seal is 100% tight. Bake crust fully preheated oven for 22-25 minutes or until lightly golden brown at the edges.
• LEMON PREP: Meanwhile, microwave lemons for 15 seconds. Remove, and knead against the counter with your hand. (These two steps help to get your lemons super juicy.)
• LEMONS: Very finely zest a lemon to get 2 teaspoons lemon zest. (Be careful to avoid the white pith of the lemons-- that will make your bars bitter.) Juice the lemons until you have 2/3 cup of lemon juice.
• BLENDER: To a high-powered blender, add remaining 1-1/2 cups white sugar and lemon zest. Pulse just to break down the zest, about 5-8 times. Do not overblend or you'll get powdered sugar! Then add remaining 3 tablespoons flour, 2/3 cup lemon juice, remaining 1/4 teaspoon salt, 4 large eggs, 1/3 cup heavy cream, and 1/4 teaspoon lemon extract (if using). Blend for 20 seconds or until just incorporated-- again, being careful to not over-blend, but ensuring all ingredients are emulsified together. Use a spatula to stir the mixture around and let sit until needed.
• BAKE AGAIN: Stir the blended mixture up again and pour slowly and evenly over the hot crust (right out of the oven). Bake for another 20-25 minutes or until bars very slightly jiggle in the center (like firm Jell-o). Allow bars to cool at room temperature for 2 hours and then chill in the fridge until the lemon layer is firm, about 2 more hours.
• FINISHING: Before enjoying, sprinkle the top of the bars with powdered sugar (through a fine-mesh sieve). Slice and enjoy!
• CUTTING TIPS: Pull the parchment paper overhang to remove the entire slab of bars from the pan and place on a cutting board or surface. Run a sharp knife under hot water, dry, make one cut, and repeat this process until all the bars are cut out.
• STORAGE: Be sure to let the bars cool completely before putting them in the fridge. Cover leftover bars with plastic wrap and pop in the fridge for 4-6 days. Or freeze leftover bars. To freeze: Cut the bars out and set on a lined sheet pan, leaving room around all four edges. Place in freezer until frozen through (2-3 hours). Once frozen through, wrap each lemon bar individually with plastic wrap and store them in a large bag or container and freeze for up to 3 months.

THE BEST EVER LEMON BARS

Steps:

• Prepare a 9x13" pan. Lightly spray the pan with cooking spray and then cover the pan with parchment paper vertically. Spray the parchment paper and then cover that piece with another piece of parchment paper horizontally.
• In a bowl, combine flour, powdered sugar and corn starch.
• Cube the cold butter and add to bowl.
• With your hands or a pastry blender combine the dry ingredients until the dough in crumbly.
• Pour the crust mixture into the pan and press down evenly.
• Bake crust in a 350 degree oven for 20-25 minutes or until golden brown around the edges.
• While the crust is in the oven, make the lemon filling.
• Squeeze lemons until you have 1 cup of lemon juice.
• Zest lemons until you have 2 tablespoons of lemon zest.
• Add Eggs, Granulated Sugar and flour into a mixing bowl. Stir until smooth and fully combined.
• Add lemons and lemon zest and mix until combined.
• When crust is done, pour lemon mixture onto the crust as soon as you pull it out of the oven.
• Place the Lemon Bars back in the oven and cook for another 20-25 minutes or until the lemon filling is set.
• Allow the Lemon Bars to cool.
• Sprinkle the Bars with Powdered Sugar.
• Cut into squares.

THE BEST LEMON BARS

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 350F. Line an 8-by-8-inch pan with aluminum foil, spray with cooking spray; set aside.
• In a large bowl, combine all crust ingredients and cut the butter into the dry ingredients with a pasty cutter or just stir and mash with a spoon until a sandy, crumbly mixture forms. I do it by hand because it's easy, fast, and I don't have to wash out my food processor; but use one if you prefer.
• Transfer crumbly mixture to prepared pan and using your fingertips, press crumbs down to form an even flat layer of crust.
• Prick crust with a fork haphazardly in a dozen places so air and steam can escape while it bakes. If air bubbles form while baking, prick them down and return pan to oven.
• Bake for 12 to 15 minutes, or until crust has just barely set. It should not be golden or browned at all, it should still be white. You just want it to stick together and it doesn't need to be cooked through fully since pan is going back in the oven to bake filling.
• While crust bakes, make the filling.
• In a large bowl, combine eggs, sugar, lemon juice (start with ¼ cup and increase to taste; I find that using less than ½ cup isn't intense enough, but add to taste), half-and-half, optional vanilla (I used it even though it's not traditional), optional lemon extract (I don't find it necessary and omitted it), and whisk until smooth.
• Add the flour and whisk until lumps are gone.
• Add lemon zest (add to taste, starting with 1 teaspoon but I prefer 2 teaspoons) and whisk to combine.
• Pour mixture over crust. Bake for 15 to 20 minutes (I baked for 18), or until the top has just set and isn't jiggly in center. Some movement and looseness is normal and desired, you just don't want it liquid-like or runny; slicing into some looseness is fine, liquid is not. Top will be yellow and lemon-colored, but not browned.
• Allow bars to cool at room temperature for at least 1 hour.
• Cover pan and refrigerate for at least three hours, or overnight, before slicing and serving.
• Optionally, dust with confectioners' sugar before serving.

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:

• 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.

LEMON BARS RECIPE

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 350°F. Line a 9x9 or an 8x8 pan with foil and spray with nonstick cooking spray.
• Make the crust by creaming the butter with a hand or a stand mixer (fitted with the paddle attachment) until smooth. Add powdered sugar, flour, and salt and mix slowly until the mixture is crumbly but sticks together when you press it between your fingers. Press the crust into the bottom of the prepared pan. Bake for about 13 minutes, or until it just starts to get a light golden brown around the edges.
• While the crust is baking, whisk the eggs until beaten. Whisk in the sugar, lemon zest, salt, and lemon juice. Pour over hot crust, then continue to bake for 15-18 minutes, or until the mixture is no longer liquid in the center and it's lightly golden brown on top.
• Cool completely before removing from pan. Remove foil, then dust with powdered sugar. Slice and serve, dusting with more powdered sugar as desired.