Lemon Bars Recipe

Get excited, because I’m gonna teach you how to make lemon bars. You’ll love everything about it, from that buttery melt-in-your-mouth shortbread crust to the super lemony filling. This is gonna make your mouth water, so let’s get started. I learned how to make lemon bars from Ina Garten’s recipe, and I have loved these for years.

This recipe makes a big batch of lemon bars, perfect for sharing, just like a loaf of super soft and easy banana bread.

Bake Time: Crust: 18 to 20 minutes, Filling: 30 to 35 minutes

Yields: 12 to 20 servings

Ingredients

For the Shortbread Crust

• ○ half a pound of unsalted softened butter
• ○ half a cup of sugar
• ○ one and a half teaspoons of vanilla extract
• ○ two cups of all-purpose flour
• ○ a quarter teaspoon of salt

For the Lemon Custard Filling

• ○ five large or eight medium lemons
• ○ seven large room temperature eggs
• ○ three cups of granulated sugar
• ○ one cup of flour

For Serving

• ○ powdered sugar, for dusting

Instructions

Pre-Preparation

1. First, line a 13 by 9 baking pan with parchment paper. Here’s a fun trick for lining a baking pan. Start by pinching the paper to the corners of the baking pan. Pinching the corners creates margins for your edges. Now, fold in all four sides, meeting at the corners. (*upbeat music*) Using scissors, cut a slit on each corner. When you set that parchment paper into the baking pan, it should slide in easily and be a nearly perfect fit. You want the parchment paper to go most of the way up the side so the filling doesn’t spill over. There you have it, easy and effective, and this method works great for square pans or loaf pans.
2. Also, be sure to preheat your oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit.

Making the Shortbread Crust

1. First, we’ll make that irresistible, easy shortbread crust. In the bowl of a stand mixer, cream together half a pound of unsalted softened butter with half a cup of sugar.
2. We’re gonna use the paddle attachment on medium speed to cream together the butter and sugar. Scrape down the bowl as needed to make sure they’re well blended.
3. Once those are well combined, add one and a half teaspoons of vanilla extract, two cups of all-purpose flour, and a quarter teaspoon of salt. I typically use a fine sea salt, and if I ever use something different, I will let you know.
4. Continue mixing until the mixture is crumbly and no dry flour streaks remain. I find it slightly easier to transfer to the pan and mold it to the pan while the mixture is still slightly crumbly, but if it does start forming into a dough, that’s okay too.
5. Give the mixture a quick stir by hand to make sure you don’t have any dry pockets of flour on the bottom.
6. Now transfer it into your lined baking pan. Spread the dough evenly into the pan, then use your fingertips to flatten out and even out the dough. You’re basically creating a cookie crust, similar to what you’d find in a perfectly flaky pie crust, and there’s no need for perfection here.

7. Once you’ve molded the dough to the bottom of the pan, place that in a preheated oven and bake at 350 degrees Fahrenheit for 18 to 20 minutes or until it’s lightly golden at the edges.
8. When it’s done baking, transfer the pan to a wire rack and let it cool slightly. You can see the edges are lightly golden.

Making the Lemon Custard Filling

1. Usually while the crust is baking in the oven, I will get started on making that lemon filling. For this recipe, you’ll need about five large or eight medium lemons. Always start by zesting your lemons because a squeezed lemon is incredibly difficult to zest, a trick we also use for our zesty lemon cookies with icing.
2. You’ll need about two tablespoons of fresh lemon zest and make sure you’re only getting the yellow peel and not the bitter white pith underneath. Set that aside.
3. Now it’s time to squeeze one whole cup of fresh lemon juice. The easiest way I’ve found to juice lemons is to cut them in half, then use a citrus squeezer. And I’ve used several different citrus squeezers over the years and many of them tend to break, but this one seems to last the longest. I will link to this in the notes. For the best flavor, make sure to use freshly squeezed lemon juice and use exactly one cup and not more so that it sets properly in the oven.
4. Now we’re gonna make that lemon custard filling. In a large mixing bowl, crack seven large room temperature eggs. Next, add three cups of granulated sugar and it may seem like a lot of sugar, but the overall lemon bars are not too sweet and well balanced with all that lemon juice. Plus, this makes a big batch of lemon bars.
5. Thoroughly whisk together the eggs and sugar until they’re well blended.
6. Then add your one cup of lemon juice and two tablespoons of lemon zest. Now whisk, whisk, whisk until well blended.
7. Then add one cup of flour. Continue whisking until the mixture is smooth and you don’t see any traces of dry flour.
8. Now pour that lemon custard filling over your pre-baked crust. The crust is usually still pretty warm when I’m pouring the custard over it. There’s no need to wait for it to cool down completely. Pour the mixture right into the center of the pan and it will even itself out.
9. Now transfer that to a preheated oven at 350 degrees Fahrenheit and bake for about 30 to 35 minutes or until the filling is set. The timing might vary depending on your oven, but mine takes exactly 33 minutes for a perfectly set center.
10. To test for doneness, give the pan a little jolt and you should not see any wobbling in the center. Also, if you see some golden brown spots on top of your lemon bars, that’s nothing to worry about and perfectly normal. It’ll all get covered up with a heavy dousing of powdered sugar.

Cooling and Serving

1. Once it’s out of the oven, let the pan cool at room temperature for at least one hour, then refrigerate for two hours before serving.
2. All right, so lining with parchment paper is brilliant because it’s less clean up and you don’t have to cut your pans and destroy your pans. It lifts up easily. So start by loosening it at the edges. Make sure it’s not stuck to the bottom at all. Loosen it up and then watch this. Watch the magic. Okay, so just lift up one corner. Woo, look at that. Look at that magic. Okay, I can’t wait. All right, so now just kind of peel back the sides. And I love the edges. They have just this little bit of crispness to them. So good.
3. Once that’s peeled back, we’re gonna cut it into even portions. And we’re gonna do big squares. You can cut this into, let’s see, 12. You can cut it into 18, 20. Just depends on how many people you’re serving. Okay, so here we go. All right, and make sure you’re cutting all the way through that crust. And it helps between slices, just like with a cheesecake, to use a damp paper towel to wipe the blade. That way you get a clean cut.
4. All that’s left to do is to dust the top with powdered sugar. This final touch adds sweetness, much like the finishing touches on a decadent homemade chocolate cheesecake recipe. And I’m ready for this taste test. How about you?

All right, things are about to get real because this is a whole lot of lemon bars. And I love lemon bars. And if you don’t love lemon bars yet, it’s just because you haven’t tried these.

Look inside of this. It is just lemony, gooey perfection. It’s just like the most delicious lemon custard. And then look at that lovely cookie crust, that shortbread crust. It’s like crisp on the bottom, soft and buttery inside. This is what lemon dreams are made of right here. If you love lemon, anything, this is gonna be your new favorite.

Okay, and we’re gonna take a bite, because I can’t wait any more. Okay, mm, come to mama. This hits the spot. I mean, that top layer is so silky. And it packs so much fresh lemon flavor. And it’s not too sweet, and it’s not too tart. It is just right. If you do use Meyer lemons, however, you should cut back the sugar, because those are naturally not as sour. But wow, wow, wow. This will ruin every diet. So worth it. Wow, I’m speechless. I gotta have another bite. Oh. Mm-hmm.

I love that these are make-ahead. You can even freeze these. And I will leave instructions for freezing and thawing in the recipe notes. My oh my, these are a crowd pleaser. Make them once, you’ll make them again and again, because they’re easy and so delicious. I hope these become a new favorite for you. Let me know in the comments below what you’d like to see in our next article and we’ll see you later.

Frequently Asked Questions

Can I make these lemon bars ahead of time?

I love that these are make-ahead.

Can I freeze these lemon bars?

You can even freeze these.

What if I use Meyer lemons?

If you do use Meyer lemons, however, you should cut back the sugar, because those are naturally not as sour.