Lemon Bars – Once Upon a Chef

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Good for snacks, picnics or only a stress-free afternoon tea, these lemon bars with shortbread crust and scrumptious lemon filling are as lovely as they’re scrumptious!

Lemon bars

One in every of my favorites from my first cookbook, these lemon bars stand out for a number of causes. First, there’s the crust: a crunchy, buttery shortbread enhanced with a bit of pastry chef trick I like—mixing a contact of cornstarch into the flour. This small tweak, mixed with the blending methodology, offers the bottom a pleasant, refined texture, offering the right distinction to the wealthy, juicy lemon layer above.

Then the lemon comes into its personal: tart but candy and filled with vibrant citrus flavors from loads of lemon juice and zest. She’s actually lovable! Not solely are these bars simple to make with eight elements, however in addition they preserve fantastically, so you possibly can positively make them prematurely for any occasion, huge or small.

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“Merely the perfect lemon bars you’ll ever eat.”

Dennis

What you may have to make lemon bars

Ingredients for lemon bars
  • Flour for all makes use of: Offers construction to the crust, and likewise thickens the lemon layer, serving to it maintain collectively as soon as baked.
  • Corn Starch: Provides the crust a mushy texture that melts within the mouth.
  • Sugar confectioners: Sweetens the crust whereas additionally contributing to its crisp texture. It’s also used to mud completed bars for garnish and so as to add sweetness.
  • ghee: Provides richness and crispness to the crust, giving it a shortbread-like texture and taste.
  • egg: The bottom of the topping, giving it construction and richness.
  • Granulated sugar: Sweetens the lemon layer and balances the acidity of the lemon juice.
  • Lemon peel: Offers a powerful fragrant lemon taste that enhances the acidity and freshness of the topping. Be sure to peel solely the yellow a part of the lemon peel and go away the white pith behind, as it’s bitter.
  • Contemporary lemon juice: Provides a necessary lemon-lime taste to the topping.
  • Go to the printable recipe for precise measurements

Step-by-step directions

Step 1: Make the crust

Place the flour, cornstarch, salt, and confectioners’ sugar within the bowl of a meals processor fitted with the blade attachment.

Process dry ingredients for crust in a food processor

Combine the elements for 15 seconds till mixed, then add the chilly butter.

Add pieces of butter to the food processor

Combine till combination resembles coarse meal, 10 to fifteen seconds.

Combine crust and coarse meal in a food processor

Unfold the combination right into a 9 x 13-inch aluminum foil-lined pan.

Place crust mixture in prepared pan

Press firmly together with your fingers till it turns into a good layer, creating a skinny layer 3/4 inch Rim across the sides (this prevents the filling from spilling below the crust).

Place within the fridge for half-hour or freeze for quarter-hour.

Press the mixture into the pan to make the crust

Bake the crust till barely golden, 15 to twenty minutes.

Baked crust

Step 2: Make the filling

Begin by beating the eggs in a big bowl.

Scrambled eggs in a bowl for lemon filling

Add sugar, lemon juice, lemon zest and flour.

Add sugar, lemon, and flour to the eggs for the filling

Combine nicely, ensuring there aren’t any lumps of flour.

Whipped lemon filling in a bowl

Pour the filling into the baked crust.

Pour filling into baked crust

Step 3: Bake and funky

Return the pan to the oven and bake for an additional 30 to 35 minutes, or till the topping is cooked and set. Let bars cool on a rack to room temperature; It’s going to take a number of hours.

Baked Lemon Bars

Step 4: Minimize the lemon bars

Use foil to carry the baked sq. from the pan to a chopping board. Fastidiously unroll the foil from the perimeters of the crust.

Transfer the lemon pieces to a cutting board

Utilizing a pointy knife, minimize into squares or triangles.

Cut lemon slices

Use a superb sieve to mud the squares with confectioners’ sugar. Retailer bars in a lined container within the fridge for as much as 4 days. Serve chilly or at room temperature.

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Steadily requested questions

Can lemon bars be made forward of time?

In fact, these lemon bars might be made as much as 2 days forward of time (and leftovers will preserve good for as much as 5 days). You possibly can retailer them earlier than or after chopping; Nonetheless, they could be a bit sticky, so it is typically simpler to retailer them earlier than chopping them into particular person bars. As soon as they’re set and utterly cooled, wrap them nicely or place them in an hermetic container to protect freshness and stop them from absorbing any undesirable fridge odors.

Can lemon bars be frozen?

Sure, lemon wedges freeze fantastically, they freeze nicely! To freeze bars, allow them to cool utterly and freeze the whole batch, lined tightly with aluminum foil or plastic freezer wrap, for as much as three months. (The minimize bars may also be frozen in a single layer.) Earlier than serving, take away from the fridge and let thaw in a single day within the fridge. Minimize the bars and sprinkle them with confectioners’ sugar earlier than serving.

Can I substitute lemon for lime to make lemon bars?

Sure, you possibly can simply exchange lemon with lime to make lemon bars. This swap will give your bars a barely completely different tropical taste. For a extra refined style, think about using the juice of half a lemon and half a lemon.

What’s one of the best ways to retailer minimize bars?

The remaining lemon slices must be saved in an hermetic container in a single layer within the fridge. You could have to sprinkle them with confectioners’ sugar earlier than serving them once more.

Can I take advantage of bottled lemon juice as an alternative of recent lemon juice to make lemon bars?

No, I do not suggest utilizing bottled lemon juice, as recent is the important thing to getting that vibrant, tart flavour. Plus, you want the zest anyway, so utilizing recent lemon is totally important.

Lemon bars

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Scrumptious lemon bars

Good for snacks, picnics or only a stress-free afternoon tea, these lemon bars with shortbread crust and scrumptious lemon filling are as lovely as they’re scrumptious!

elements

For dandruff

  • 1¾ cup All-purpose flour, put in a measuring cup and equalize
  • ¼ cup Corn Starch
  • 1 teaspoon salt
  • 1 cup Confectioners’ sugar, plus extra to embellish the completed bars
  • 2 sticks (1 cup) -Chilly unsalted butter, minimize into slices ½ inch to chop

For lemon topping

  • 6 Giant eggs
  • 3 cups Granulated sugar
  • 2 tablespoons Lemon peel (you should definitely peel the lemon earlier than squeezing it)
  • ⅔ cup Contemporary lemon juice, from 5 to six lemons
  • ⅔ cup Flour for all makes use of

instructions

Make the crust

  1. Modify the oven rack to the center place, then preheat the oven 350°F.
  2. Cowl a 9×13 inches Steel baking pan lined with heavy-duty aluminum foil (see observe under). Push the foil neatly into the corners and sides of the pan, utilizing two cuts if needed to ensure the foil overlaps all edges (the overhang will assist take away it from the pan). Spray the burnt pan with nonstick cooking spray.
  3. Place the flour, cornstarch, salt, and confectioners’ sugar within the bowl of a meals processor fitted with the blade attachment, and mix for just a few seconds. Add the butter and blend till mixed till the combination resembles coarse meal, 10 to fifteen seconds. Sprinkle the combination into the ready pan and press firmly together with your fingers till it turns into a good layer, forming a skinny layer ¾ inch Rim across the sides (this prevents the filling from spilling below the crust). Place within the fridge for half-hour or freeze for quarter-hour.
  4. Bake the crust till barely golden, 15 to twenty minutes.

Make the filling

  1. In a big bowl, whisk collectively the eggs, sugar, lemon juice, lemon zest, and flour. Be sure there aren’t any lumps of flour.
  2. When the crust is prepared, give the lemon combination a fast stir and pour it excessive. Instantly return the pan to the oven and bake for an additional 30 to 35 minutes, or till the topping is about and set. Let bars cool on a rack to room temperature; It’s going to take a number of hours.
  3. To chop, use aluminum foil to carry the baked sq. from the pan onto a chopping board. Fastidiously loosen the foil from the perimeters of the crust, utilizing a knife if needed. Utilizing a pointy knife, minimize into squares or triangles. Use a superb sieve to mud the squares with confectioners’ sugar. Retailer bars in a lined container within the fridge for as much as 4 days. Serve chilly or at room temperature.
  4. Directions to be used within the freezer: Bars might be frozen for as much as 3 months. After utterly cooled, freeze the whole batch, masking tightly with aluminum foil or plastic freezer wrap. Earlier than serving, take it out of the fridge and let it thaw in a single day within the fridge. Minimize the bars and sprinkle them with confectioners’ sugar earlier than serving.
  5. Word: Remember to use heavy-duty aluminum foil; Common aluminum foil could stick. Parchment paper may also be used to line the pan.

Diet data

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  • Per serving (20 servings)
  • Serving Dimension: 1 giant field
  • Energy: 306
  • fats: 11 grams
  • Saturated fats: 6 g
  • Carbohydrates: 50 g
  • sugar: 36 grams
  • Fiber: 1 g
  • protein: 4g
  • sodium: 140 mg
  • Ldl cholesterol: 80 mg

This web site is written and produced for informational functions solely. I’m not an authorized nutritionist and the dietary statements on this web site haven’t been evaluated or accredited by a nutritionist or the Meals and Drug Administration. Dietary data is supplied as a courtesy and shouldn’t be construed as a assure. The information is calculated by means of the digital dietary calculator Edamam.com. Though I make each effort to offer correct dietary data, these numbers must be thought-about estimates solely. Numerous elements resembling the categories or manufacturers of merchandise bought, pure fluctuations in recent produce, and the best way elements are processed change the efficient dietary data in any given recipe. Moreover, completely different on-line calculators present completely different outcomes relying on their vitamin truth sources and algorithms. To get essentially the most correct dietary data in a given recipe, it is best to calculate the dietary data utilizing the precise elements utilized in your recipe, utilizing your most popular vitamin calculator.

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