This easy Lemon Bar Recipe has a decadent, rich, moist, lemon filling. These irresistible dessert bars are simple to make and will make your taste buds burst with flavor.
This Lemon Bar Recipe is so fun to make with a soft lemon tangy, filling, and a dense buttery crust. They really bring the essence of spring and summer to your dessert plate.
Baking and cooking with lemons always brings a smile to my face. I absolutely adore recipes with lemon and it doesn’t matter if they’re sweet lemon recipes or more on the tart or savory side. Lemon recipes are ones that my whole family enjoys and has for many generations.
Filled with such a pop of flavor, this Lemon Bar Recipe will become a hit with your family too. Once you make then they will for sure to continue to be on your dessert menu rotation!
We have been making these bars for years and are easily the best bars I have ever had, but I might be biased. Not overly tart but you still get a nice zing from the lemon.
Some of our other favorite lemon recipes we have on our site include: Lemon Poppy Seed Cake, Lemon Tart, and Lemon Blueberry Danishes.
WHY THIS RECIPE WORKS:
- An easy recipe that uses minimal, common ingredients you already have in the kitchen.
- A delicious shortbread crust topped with a custard lemon filling, this is a knockout dessert.
- Don’t have to dirty up the whole kitchen for this tasty recipe.
INGREDIENTS NEEDED (FULL RECIPE AT BOTTOM):
All-purpose flour
Unsalted butter
Powdered sugar
Salt
Granulated sugar
Eggs
Lemon Zest
Lemon juice
HOW TO MAKE A LEMON BAR RECIPE, STEP BY STEP:
- Preheat the oven to 325°F. Line a 9×13 baking dish with parchment paper, set aside.
- In a large bowl, add the flour, butter, powdered sugar, and salt, mix until combined. Press the crust into the prepared baking dish and bake for 22-24 minutes until the very edges are very slightly golden brown.
- Take the crust out of the oven and with a fork, poke holes all over, but don’t go all the way through the crust. Set aside while you make the filling.
- Place the granulated sugar and flour in a large bowl, whisk to combine. Add the eggs and lemon zest, whisk to combine. Add the lemon juice and whisk to combine.
- Pour the filling on top of the crust. Bake for 25-28 minutes until the bars are set, there should be a slight jiggle right in the center but not much.
- Let cool on the counter until room temperature, place in the fridge, and chill for 4 hours or overnight.
- Take the bars out using the parchment paper to help, dust generously with powdered sugar and cut into bars, serve immediately.
CAN YOU MAKE THESE LEMON BARS AHEAD OF TIME?
You bet! If you’d like to make this dessert ahead of time to have dessert checked off your to-do list or to serve them later at a party, you can surely do that. Feel free to make these dessert bars up to 24 hours in advance.
HOW DO I KNOW IF THE LEMON BARS ARE SET?
When you check on the lemon bars, if the edges are showing a little crusty and the center is still slightly jiggly, it should be done.
If your recipe still seems a little runny when pulling them out of the oven, add a few extra minutes to your cook time.
The center of the bars will finish setting once it cools. Also, make sure not to rush your dessert chill time, that’s when the center really gets the chance to set.
HOW DO YOU CUT THEM SO NICELY?
Wipe your knife between cuts so you get a pretty presentation. Use a damp paper towel to get the residue from your cut off of the knife before preparing to cut the lemon bars again.
DO I NEED TO USE FRESH LEMON JUICE?
Fresh lemon juice really brings out the lemon flavoring with the lemon zest as well. You can also use any freshly squeezed citrus juice, like lime or grapefruit, for these bars to mix up the flavors, or a combo!
In a pinch you can use bottled lemon juice but they may not have the same lemon flavor that we are going for in this recipe.
WHAT ARE THE BUBBLES ON TOP OF MY BARS?
Air bubbles may rise to the top of the bars while baking, this is completely normal from mixing the eggs with the other ingredients for the filling.
This doesn’t affect the taste or texture of the bars at all.
HOW TO STORE:
This Lemon Bar REcipe can be kept in the refrigerator covered or in an airtight container where they will keep for up to a week.
These can also be frozen, to do that place cooled bars in a freezer container separated by wax paper and they should keep for up to 3 months.
To defrost, let them thaw in the refrigerator until they’re the right consistency to eat. You can enjoy them cold or remove them to the countertop to warm up to room temperature.
TIPS AND TRICKS:
- I like to serve the bars cold or close to room temperature. They are a little more on the gooey side, but still set at room temperature, it is your preference how you want to serve them.
- Wait to coat them with powdered sugar until you’re ready for them.
- For the best results, you must use freshly squeezed lemons, you will need about 3 large lemons to get ⅔ cup juice.
- In a pinch you can use bottled lemon juice.
- These can be frozen, see my tips above.
- Poking the crust with a fork before adding the filling helps the crust stay on the bottom and the custard stay on top of the bars.
- Use a glass or ceramic baking pan for the best flavor. Sometimes a metal pan can cause a metallic taste in your bars.
- This recipe can be cut in half and baked in a 9×9-inch baking dish, just reduce your cooking time slightly.
Searching for the perfect bite of lemon custard with a shortbread crust to serve to your guests? This Lemon Bar Recipe is the one you’ve been looking for. Powdered sugar covered lemon bars are wonderful squares of heaven that all your family and friends will fall in love with.
IF YOU LIKE THIS RECIPE YOU MIGHT ALSO LIKE:
If you’ve tried this LEMON BAR RECIPE or any other recipe on my site, let me know in the comment section how it turned out, we love hearing from our readers! You can also follow along with me on PINTEREST, FACEBOOK and INSTAGRAM to see more amazing recipes and what shenanigans I’m getting into!
Lemon Bar Recipe
Ingredients
For the crust:
- 2 cups all-purpose flour
- 1 cup unsalted butter softened
- ½ cup powdered sugar plus more for dusting
- ¼ teaspoon fine sea salt
For the filling:
- 2 cups granulated sugar
- 6 tablespoons all-purpose flour
- 6 large eggs room temperature
- Zest of 2 lemons
- ⅔ cup lemon juice fresh squeezed
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 325°F. Line a 9x13 baking dish with parchment paper, set aside.
- In a large bowl, add the flour, butter, powdered sugar, and salt, mix until combined. Press the crust into the prepared baking dish and bake for 22-24 minutes until the very edges are very slightly golden brown.
- Take the crust out of the oven and with a fork, poke holes all over, but don’t go all the way through the crust. Set aside while you make the filling.
- Place the granulated sugar and flour in a large bowl, whisk to combine. Add the eggs and lemon zest, whisk to combine. Add the lemon juice and whisk to combine.
- Pour the filling on top of the crust. Bake for 25-28 minutes until the bars are set, there should be a slight jiggle right in the center but not much.
- Let cool on the counter until room temperature, place in the fridge, and chill for 4 hours or overnight.
- Take the bars out using the parchment paper to help, dust generously with powdered sugar and cut into bars, serve immediately.
Notes
- I like to serve the bars cold or close to room temperature. They are a little more on the gooey side, but still set at room temperature, it is your preference how you want to serve them.
- Wait to coat them with powdered sugar until you're ready for them.
- For the best results, you must use freshly squeezed lemons, you will need about 3 large lemons to get ⅔ cup juice.
- In a pinch you can use bottled lemon juice.
- These can be frozen, see my tips above.
- Poking the crust with a fork before adding the filling helps the crust stay on the bottom and the custard stay on top of the bars.
- Use a glass or ceramic baking pan for the best flavor. Sometimes a metal pan can cause a metallic taste in your bars.
- This recipe can be cut in half and baked in a 9x9-inch baking dish, just reduce your cooking time slightly.
Nutrition
Tornadough Alli is not a nutritionist or dietitian, and any nutritional information shared is an estimate. If calorie count and nutritional value is important to you, we recommend running the ingredients through whichever online nutritional calculator you prefer. Calories and values can vary depending on which brands were used.
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