The Best Lemon Squares Food

BEST LEMON SQUARES

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Spray a 9x13-inch baking dish with cooking spray.
• Process 2 cups flour, butter, and 1/2 cup confectioners' sugar in a food processor until mixture resembles coarse crumbs; press into the prepared baking dish.
• Bake in the preheated oven until the edges of the crust are golden brown, 18 to 22 minutes. Cool crust to room temperature.
• Beat white sugar, eggs, 1/4 cup flour, lemon juice, baking powder, and lemon zest together in a bowl using an electric mixer until light and fluffy; pour onto the cooled crust.
• Bake in the oven until custard is set, 25 to 28 minutes. Cool lemon squares completely; dust the top with more confectioners' sugar.

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

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.

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.

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).

THE BEST LEMON SQUARES

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 350º.
• Lightly grease an 9x9" square baking dish with butter.
• For the base, process the flour and confectioners sugar in a food processor for several seconds.
• Add the butter and process until the dough comes together, 20-30 seconds.
• Press the dough gently and evenly over the bottom of the prepared pan.
• Glaze it with the egg white: Pour the egg white on the dough and tip the pan from side to side so that the egg white spreads over the surface. Pour out the excess.
• Bake the base on the center oven rack until golden, about 20-25 minutes.
• Place the base in the refrigerator for 15 minutes to cool completely. Keep the oven on.
• Meanwhile prepare the topping: Gently whisk the eggs in a medium-size bowl until lightly mixed.
• Add the remaining topping ingredients and continue to whisk gently until they are blended.
• Pour the topping evenly over the base. .
• Bake until the top is set and golden, about 20-25 minutes. .
• Allow the lemon squares to cool completely.
• Sprinkle the surface with confectioners sugar and cut into squares with a sharp knife that is dipped in hot water and wiped dry before each cut.
• Tip: If you plan to keep the squares longer than a day, put them in an air-tight container and refrigerate. You can also freeze them.