This classic Lemon Bars recipe is easy to follow and produces the BEST fresh, citrusy treat! They’re simple, delicious and sure to be a hit!
If you are a lover of lemony treats, then you have come to the right place! This lemon-loving girl is excited to share my favourite recipe for lemon bars with you today! So good, you guys.
These lemon bars are fresh, citrusy and bright. They have a crumbly shortbread crust and a smooth as silk filling. In other words, perfection. That tart-yet-sweet flavour is so dang good!
Did I mention that these are easy too? Super simple and easy so don’t worry if you are a novice baker- these bars are not too fussy and are totally doable.
What you’ll need to make lemon bars
The beauty of this recipe is in how simple the ingredients are. You likely have everything you need to make these bars on hand already!
To make the crust, you will need:
- 1 cup flour
- 1/2 cup butter, softened
- 1/4 cup sugar
- 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
To make the filling, you will need:
- 1 1/4 cups sugar
- 1/4 cup flour
- 1/3 cup lemon juice
- 2 teaspoons lemon zest
- 2 large eggs
- icing sugar (confectioner’s sugar or powdered sugar), for dusting
How to make lemon bars
Preheat oven to 350F and line a 8×8 baking dish with parchment paper, leaving some overhang to make it easier to remove the bars.
Place the ingredients for the crust in a stand mixer and blend until combined. The mixture will be crumbly, not smooth and that is ok. Press the dough into the prepared baking dish. Bake for 15-20 minutes or until the edges begin to brown.
Meanwhile, in a bowl, add the sugar, flour, and lemon zest and whisk together. Add the lemon juice and eggs and whisk until the filling is smooth. Transfer it into the baking dish. Bake for an additional 20 minutes or until the mixture is set.
Allow the bars to completely cool in the pan. Then refrigerate- this will help the filling set further so that it doesn’t ooze out when the bars are sliced.
Dust the bars with icing sugar and slice to your desired size.
Tips for the best bars
These bars are pretty easy to do, but there are a few things to keep in mind to ensure you make the best bars.
- First and foremost, you need to use fresh lemon juice. No bottled juices here, please. Fresh lemon juice will give you the best flavour!
- Let the bars cool completely and chill them before removing them from the pan. Although it can tempting to dig into these babies as soon as they are out of the oven, resist the urge! While the lemon filling will be “set” after baking, it will still be too gooey to slice into. Remove the bars from the pan too early and they will ooze out and not look as pretty as you’d hoped. In order to ensure pretty slices and a fully set filling, let them cool completely at room temperature and then chill them in the fridge before slicing.
How to store lemon bars
Lemon bars should be stored in the fridge until you are ready to enjoy them. Store them in an air-tight container.
You can also freeze lemon bars. To freeze these bars, wrap them in wax paper and plastic food wrap to prevent freezer burn and place them in a freezer bag or freezer safe container. When you would like to enjoy them, defrost the bars in the fridge (take them out a day in advance as this will take awhile).
I hope you enjoy this lemony treat!
-Cathy
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Lemon Bars
Ingredients
For the crust:
- 1 cup flour
- 1/2 cup butter softened
- 1/4 cup sugar
- 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
For the lemon filling:
- 1 1/4 cups sugar
- 1/4 cup flour
- 1/3 cup lemon juice fresh
- 2 teaspoons lemon zest
- 2 large eggs
- icing sugar (confectioner's sugar or powdered sugar), for dusting
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350F and line a 8×8 baking dish with parchment paper, leaving some overhang to make it easier to remove the bars.
- Place the ingredients for the crust in a stand mixer and blend until combined. The mixture will be crumbly, not smooth and that is ok. Press the dough into the prepared baking dish. Bake for 15-20 minutes or until the edges begin to brown.
- Meanwhile, in a bowl, add the sugar, flour, and lemon zest and whisk together. Add the lemon juice and eggs and whisk until the filling is smooth. Transfer it into the baking dish. Bake for an additional 20 minutes or until the mixture is set.
- Allow the bars to completely cool in the pan. Then refrigerate- this will help the filling set further so that it doesn’t ooze out when the bars are sliced.
- Dust the bars with icing sugar and slice to your desired size.
Note: Metric ingredient measurements are provided as a courtesy using a third-party calculator and are rounded to the nearest unit. The recipes provided on this site have not been tested with metric measurements and their accuracy cannot be verified.
Nutrition
The nutritional information provided is based on third-party calculations and is an estimate only. Accurate nutritional facts will vary based on the particular brands used, portion sizes, measurement accuracy and more.
I have only ever made lemon bars from a box mix. It is interesting to see what the process is to make them from scratch. These sound so fresh and delicious!