Lemon Bars

Lemon Bars

Crust.

• • 3/4 cup all-purpose flour

  • 3 tablespoons granulated sugar

  • 1/2 teaspoon salt

  • 6 tablespoons cold, unsalted butter

Filling.

• • 1 1/2 cups granulated sugar

  • 1/4 cup all-purpose flour

  • 4 eggs

  • 3/4 cup lemon juice (from 3-4 small lemons)

  • zest of 2 small lemons

Preheat the oven to 350 and grease a square 8x8 baking dish with non-stick spray.

Crust.

In a large bowl, combine the flour, sugar and salt. Use a pastry cutter to cut the butter in until the mixture is crumbly, and the pieces of butter are about the size of peas. Dump the mixture into the prepared pan and press firmly against the bottom of the pan. Bake for 20 minutes, then set aside to cool for 5 minutes. (The cooling is important - if you pour the filling over the crust when the crust is too hot, the sudden change in temperature of the cold filling against the hot crust can cause the crust to crack and float up into the filling.)

Filling.

In the same bowl that you mixed the crust, combine the sugar and flour. Whisk in the eggs, lemon juice and lemon zest until smooth. After cooling the crust for 5 minutes, whisk up the filling ingredients again and carefully pour over the warm crust. Bake for 20 minutes, just until the filling is starting to brown a light golden color, but is still wobbly. Cool on the counter for one hour, then chill in the refrigerator for several hours until set. Dust with powdered sugar and cut into squares.

Recipe from Curly Girl Kitchen