Lemon Bars

In the mood for something with lemon, I considered lemon meringue pie, lemon cream tart, lemon curd, lemon pound cake, but in the end settle for lemon bars.  The crisp buttery crust and the balanced sweet and tart flavors in the filling make for a satisfying lemon experience.

I prefer to bake the lemon bars in 2 square pans rather than a 9x13, the bars bake faster and are easier to remove from the pan so they can be cut and served in even sized pieces.  Form a slight crust up the sides of the pans so that the filling won't overflow and stick to the sides of the pan, again easing in removal of the lemon bars from the pan.

Crust
2 1/2 cups flour
1/2 cup sugar
8 ounces cream cheese, softened
1/2 cup butter, softened
the zest of 2 lemons
1/4 teaspoon salt

Lemon Filling
5 eggs
1 1/2 cups sugar
1/4 cup flour
the zest of 2 lemons
the juice of 4 lemons

2 Tablespoons powdered sugar


1. Preheat oven to 350°F and grease 2 - 8" square pans.

2. Stir together crust ingredients until a firm dough forms.  Press into greased pans, forming a 1/2" crust up the sides of the pans.

3. Bake crusts for 10-12 minutes or until lightly browned.

4. Meanwhile whisk together the lemon filling ingredients.

5. When the crusts are par-baked pour the lemon filling evenly over the crusts and bake for another 10-12 minutes or until the filling is set.

6.  Cool in the pan for 5 minutes and then lift the bars out of the pans with a spatula.  Let cool completely.

7. Use a fine mesh strainer to evenly dust powdered sugar over the cooled lemon bars.  Cut bars and store in an air tight container.


adapted from this recipe