Classic Lemon Bars

I’ve been making a lot of classic recipes lately, mostly because that’s what my customers have been wanting. But to repeatedly stick to the classics, without say, browning the butter for these chocolate chip cookies, or to just simply let the peanut butter do all the talking in these, now that’s not normal for me. I like to make at least one change in my recipes every time, but then they aren’t classic anymore. But sometimes you need to let traditional recipes be what they are, minus the occasional splash of whiskey, I know how dare I?! No need for rolling pins, or double broilers, just a manageable 8X8 pan, don’t mind the size of the pan in my pictures, as I doubled the recipe to fit a 12X12 inch pan for an order I had. Your hands are the best tools in the kitchen, so use them. Trust me, save yourself the frustration of trying to spread this cookie layer with a spatula, it’s not going to happen. This is a classic and easy recipe, remember.

As the season changes, the air becomes warmer and we tend to gravitate more towards refreshing flavors, steering away from comforting spices, of cinnamon. Now that taste buds have had their fair bites of these candied walnut cookies, they’re onto tangy cool flavors of lemon bars. Growing up tartness wasn’t a flavor I really cared for, but as I became older I grew to savor a fresh squeeze of lemon in almost everything, and I learned to truly appreciate a good piece of lemon meringue pie.

Just how a classic recipe should be, these lemon bars don’t have the extra step of making a curd filling; the eggs, lemon juice, and a dash of flour gets baked until barely jiggly. It’s just the right amount of sweet and tartness. The buttery shortbread crust is just as simple and delicious too. Joy is right, the caramelized edges are the best. Although they don’t look good enough to sell, they are the best part of these bars. But as every baker knows, the scraps are how we taste out product sometimes, and when we crave a bit of sweetness we just eat the scraps leftover from dessert orders.

A generous dusting of powder sugar complete these bars.

Ingredients {Makes 16 bars}

Cookie Crust

1 stick {1/2 cup} – Unsalted Butter {room temperature}

1/2 cup – Granulated Sugar

1/2 cup – All Purpose Flour

1/2 cup – Whole Wheat Flour

Pinch of salt

Lemon Topping

2 large – Eggs

3/4 cup – Granulated Sugar

1 teaspoon – Fresh Lemon Zest

3 tablespoons – Whole Wheat Flour

1/4 cup – Fresh Lemon Juice {about 1 lemon}

Confectioners’ Sugar, for dusting

Recipe {Adapted from Joy the Baker}

Preheat oven to 350 degrees, butter an 8×8-inch baking pan, and line with parchment paper leaving an over hang from the pan. Butter the parchment paper; set aside.

For the crust, cream the butter and sugar in the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, until light and fluffy {3 to 5 minutes}. Scrape down sides of the bowl as needed. Add flour and salt, and beat on low until dough is incorporated. {If dough doesn’t come together and remains crumbly, that’s okay}. Place the crust into the prepared pan and use fingertips to press the dough into the bottom of the pan evenly. Bake until just browned around the edges {about 15 to 18 minutes}.

For the filling, whisk together eggs and sugar, in a medium bowl until well combined {about 2 minutes}. Add the flour, lemon juice, and zest, whisk until blended. Pour the filling over the baked crust {it’s alright if it’s still warm}. Bake until top is lightly browned and center is no longer jiggling {about 18 to 20 minutes}.

Cool completely in pan. Run a knife around the edges of the pan, and slice lemon bars into sixteen squares. Use the hanging parchment paper to lift the squares out. Dust with a generous layer of confectioners’ sugar. Store the lemon bars in an airtight container separated by wax paper layers, for up to 1 week.