lemon bars

Lemon bars are a funny thing. Everyone has a recipe for them - I actually have three - and they're often sold in bakery cases, but they're usually not very good. What puzzles me is that I have several friends who, if asked what recipe they think of when they think of me, would say my lemon bars. I guess the reason it makes me shake my head is that I don't think of them as my "go to" recipe, and I don't actually make them that all often. But it's nice to be thought of. :-)

In any event, my lovely grad school roommate recently asked for the recipe, and she and I shared some very fun cooking adventures at 1617 Swann Street (mmm, tiropitas!). In honor of her, I thought I'd share the recipe with the rest of you as well. And in related happy news, Nanette informs me that it's appropriate to post recipes published in cookbooks as long as you don't share the descriptive header blurb. I'll make sure I have a good handle on it before posting any recipes, but it looks like I may be able to share some more of the recipes from my KA cookbook going forward.

Moving on...

Lemon Bars

Crust
2 cups flour
1/2 cup powdered sugar
1 cup unsalted butter

Preheat oven to 350F. Mix together the crust ingredients with a pastry blender or fork until crumbly. Press into the bottom of a 9x13 pan. Bake for 20-30 minutes or until crust is light golden brown.

While crust is baking, prepare filling.

Filling
4 eggs, slightly beaten
2 cups sugar
1/4 cup flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 cup lemon juice

Mix together eggs, sugar, flour, and baking powder thoroughly. You can just stir it all together with a whisk. Add lemon juice and beat well. (I usually wait until the crust is nearly done baking before I add the lemon juice, mainly so the filling will be well-incorporated when I pour it over the crust.) Pour over warm crust and return to oven. Bake 25-30 minutes. Don't let it get too dark brown; I sometimes bake it as little as 22-25 minutes. Cool completely.

Glaze
1 cup powdered sugar
2-3 tablespoons lemon juice

Whisk together powdered sugar and lemon juice to make a relatively thin glaze. Drizzle over lemon bars. I usually use an offset spatula to smooth the glaze over the whole pan of lemon bars evenly.

Allow glaze to dry, then cut into small squares. I usually cut 40-48 small lemon bars.