eclaire (what’s in a) name?

as promised in an earlier post, i’m sharing another delicious lemon recipe! lemon bars hold a special place in my heart – i can remember picking them out from behind beautiful glass bakery cases when i was a kid, after swimming lessons (or maybe after ballet lessons? i’m not entirely sure – eating at yummy bakery memories blend for me – it was a rough childhood, i know). while i tend to favor chocolate desserts, and just plain old chocolate in general, lemon bars are one of the few exceptions i make to my chocoholic nature.

i love that lemon bars seem really fancy, too, even though they’re a lot easier than many desserts. while they’re incredibly simple to make, they’re decidedly not quick. you have to make the shortbread base, bake that, make the lemon top, bake that, and then refrigerate for several hours or overnight before cutting and sprinkling with powdered sugar. so if you’re going to make these delicious bars, do yourself a favor and make them the night before you want to eat them, or you’ll have a gooey mess on your hands!

one year ago: kitchari

lemon bars

yields 16 cookies

• 1/2c melted butter
• 1c flour
• 1/4c powdered sugar
• 1c sugar
• 1/2t baking powder
• 2 eggs
• 2t lemon zest
• 2T lemon juice
• 1-2T powdered sugar
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1. preheat the oven to 350°
2. grease and 8×8 pan
3. melt the butter (i usually nuke it), then whisk the flour and powdered sugar into the butter
4. press this mixture into the greased pan and bake for 20 minutes
5. meanwhile, whisk the sugar, baking powder, eggs, lemon zest, and lemon juice together
6. pour the liquid mixture over the baked crust (whisk one more time if it sat while the crust was baking)
7. bake for 25 minutes, then allow to cool in the refrigerator for 4 hours or overnight (you don’t want to skip this step, as they will ooze all over everything)
8. cut the lemon bars into 16 pieces and remove from the pan with a spatula
9. sprinkle the powdered sugar over the top of the bars, and serve!