Easy Lemon Bars

I don’t know about you, but I’d bake more often if I didn’t have to drag the mixer out every time. So when I come across a recipe that doesn’t require plugging something in, it gets my attention. These bars are outrageously good. They have a shortbread crust topped with lemon custard and powdered sugar. Although a mixer was used to prepare Easy Lemon Bars from Four Marrs One Venus, there’s no reason they can’t be made without one. I’ll explain how I did it below.

Now, I don’t mean to imply you won’t need any equipment. Nor do I want you to think you’d be taking the easy way out if you used a mixer. I’ve mentioned before there’s no judging in Lydia’s Flexitarian Kitchen.

For those who may be unfamiliar, I’m going to discuss some of the equipment I used in preparing Easy Lemon Bars (complete with affiliate links!) before giving the recipe. Don’t worry, I’ll be brief.

If you’re not going to use a mixer, you’ll need a mixing bowl. And if you have a mixing bowl, you may as well have a large one. A large bowl gives you plenty of room to mix a double batch of cookies or meatballs. Making a pasta salad for a cookout? A large mixing bowl enables you to make it all at once, instead of in batches. Sure, you need space to store the bowl, but if you use it frequently it’s worth the space. I use my large bowl three or four times a week and store it on top of my kitchen cabinets. For the lemon bars I used it twice; once for the crust and then, after a quick wipe, for the custard.

There are a couple ways you can blend the butter, flour and sugar for the shortbread crust without a mixer. A pastry blender works well, as do a couple knives held like claws (think Wolverine). Whichever you choose, use short strokes to cut the butter into small bits, stirring up the flour and sugar as you go. You can see how a large bowl would make the job easier. As the dough starts to come together, you can use your hands to help form it into a ball.

A 9 x 13 inch pan is ideal for lemon bars. You can use a standard cake pan or a jelly roll pan. If you use a jelly roll pan, make sure you are careful as this recipe will fill the pan.

To make the custard, you’ll need a decent size whisk like this 11 inch whisk. Choose a whisk that fits your palm comfortably. Try gripping it palm up and palm down and switch grips if your hand gets fatigued.

To zest the lemons you can use a zester like this one. To juice them you can squeeze them by hand or use a reamer.

Sounds like a lot of washing, doesn’t it? I promise it is no more involved than taking out your mixer, inserting the dough hook, making the crust, disassembling and washing, and inserting the beaters to make the custard. Hopefully, you have most of these items already. If not, they are readily available in your local box store.

Whether you use a mixer or rock these out by hand, I hope you’ll give these Easy Lemon Bars a try. They are worth any amount of effort.

Easy Lemon Bars

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Servings: 0

Author: LydiaF

Ingredients

For the crust

• 8 oz softened butter 2 sticks
• ½ cup sugar
• 2 cups flour

For the custard filling

• 4 eggs
• 1/2 teaspoon vanilla
• 1 ½ cups sugar
• ¼ cup flour
• Zest and juice of two lemons 2 tablespoon zest and 1/4 cup juice

Instructions

• Preheat the oven to 350°F
• Cut the butter into small pieces.
• Measure the flour and sugar into the large mixing bowl. Stir together. Add the butter.
• Cut the butter into the flour and sugar and blend until a loose ball forms. You may have to use your hands to help form the ball.
• Press the dough evenly into the bottom of your 9 x 13 inch pan.
• Bake, unfilled, for 16 - 18 minutes. Turn the pan about halfway into the cooking time.
• While the crust is baking, wipe out the mixing bowl.
• Beat the eggs and vanilla briefly with the whisk.
• Add the flour and sugar. Whisk to mix.
• Zest the lemons directly into the mixing bowl.
• Juice the lemons and add the juice to the mixing bowl. I like to collect the juice in a small bowl and pour it through a strainer to catch the seeds. I've also collected the juice in a bowl and picked the seeds out by hand.
• Use the whisk to beat the mixture until the sugar is dissolved. By the time this happens the custard should be lighter in color and you will no longer hear/feel the whisk scraping against the sugar.
• When the crust is ready remove it from the oven and pour the filling over the crust. Spread the filling with a spatula or by tipping the pan if necessary. Be careful if using the jelly roll pan, it will be quite full.
• Return to the oven and bake for another 20 minutes. The lemon bars are done when the filling is set.
• Allow to cool for a few minutes then sprinkle with powdered sugar.
• Cut into bars and serve. For a 9 x 13" pan, I get 24 pieces.

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If you’re feeling adventurous, substitute another type of citrus for the lemon. You want about two tablespoons of zest and a quarter cup of juice. Let us know how it turns out.

UPDATED Jan 2016: I’m so happy I took the time to update this post (and so was Rick!) These bars are wonderful with for a snack with a cup of coffee or tea. Here’s the original photo, taken with my phone. I learned how to apply a stroke to my letters in Photoshop for this image 🙂