Lemon bars are one of those things like Lost and Oprah that I know, in theory, I should love, but when it comes down to it, there’s something about them that I struggle with. 
And it doesn’t totally make sense–shortbread? Good. Lemon? Good. Powdered sugar? Good. But my problem is those stupid eggs. I’ve mentioned it again and again, but I really don’t like anything with any overly eggy flavor and that seems to be why I don’t love most lemon bars (or lemon meringue pie, for that matter). I do love, love, love Sara’s Creamy Lemon Bars because I think the cream cheese helps with the egginess, but regular lemon bars usually just make my throat close up.
Except for this recipe.
I don’t know if it’s the sweet, lemony glaze or if the proportions are just different enough from other lemon bar recipes or if the baking time is just a little shorter (thus avoiding the horror of overcooked eggs–seriously, stuff nightmares are made of!), but these are not only my favorite classic lemon bars, but the only classic lemon bars that I’ll eat. And I will eat way more of them than I need to, so if my local friends and neighbors suddenly find lemon bars on their doorsteps, you know where they came from!
First, you need to preheat the oven to 350. Then, for the shortbread crust, you’ll just need flour, powdered sugar, and butter. You’ll whisk your flour and powdered sugar together and then cut in the butter. A quick shortcut is to use a cheese grater to grate a very cold stick of butter right into your flour. Then it’s super easy to mix it up with your fingers!
And then transfer the mixture to a 9×13″ pan lightly coated with cooking spray.
Gently press the mixture into the pan so it’s even, and then bake it for 15-20 minutes or until the crust is light golden around the edges.
While the crust is in its last few minutes in the oven, use an electric mixer on high speed to mix together the filling ingredients: eggs, sugar, strained lemon juice, a little flour, and some baking powder.
Mix it for about 3 minutes or until it’s very, very pale yellow. Then pour the mixture over the warm crust…
Pop that baby back into the oven for 20-25 minutes or until the top is very light golden brown. Remove it from the oven and allow it to cool completely.
When the bars are completely cool, whisk together a cup of powdered sugar with a few tablespoons of freshly squeezed lemon juice and then spread it over the cooled bars.
Cover and refrigerate for at least 2 hours. When ready to serve, cut into squares, rectangles, or triangles
(or hey, circles, parallelograms, or octagons if you’re feeling adventurous–who am I to stop you?!) You can sprinkle grated lemon zest or additional powdered sugar on top of the bars (although these are quite sweet already and more powdered sugar might be overkill). Prepare yourself for lots of love and compliments, even from people who claim to not love lemon (like my husband) or lemon bars (like me).
Glazed Lemon Bars
Recipe lightly adapted by Our Best Bites from The Pillsbury Complete Book of Baking
Crust
2 c. all-purpose flour (lightly spooned into the measuring cup and leveled with a knife)
1/2 c. powdered sugar
1 c. (2 sticks) butter, softened to room temperature
Filling
4 large eggs at room temperature
1/4 c. freshly-squeezed lemon juice, strained of pulp and seeds
1 tsp. baking powder
1/4 c. all-purpose flour
2 c. white sugar
Glaze
1 c. powdered sugar
3 tablespoons strained freshly squeezed lemon juice
Preheat oven to 350. Lightly spray a 9×13″ pan with non-stick cooking spray and set aside. Whisk together the flour and powdered sugar and then cut in the butter with a pastry blender or two knives until the mixture is crumbly. Lightly press into the pan and bake for 15-20 minutes or until light golden around the edges. Remove from oven.
During the last few minutes of the shortbread’s baking time, mix the eggs, lemon juice, flour, sugar, and baking powder in a large bowl with an electric mixer on high speed for three minutes. The mixture should be frothy and very, very pale yellow. Pour the mixture over the warm crust and then return the pan to the oven for another 20-25 minutes or until lightly golden brown on top. You might want to check the bars at 17-18 minutes to make sure the top isn’t getting too dark.
Remove the pan from the oven and allow to cool completely. When the bars are cool, whisk together the glaze ingredients until smooth and then gently spread over the bars. Refrigerate for at least two hours and then cut into squares before serving. Makes about 36 bars.
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Questions & Reviews
do you think it would be ok if i lined the pan with foil, so i can make perfect cuts to these bars?
I made these tonight with my 11 year old daughter and we LOVE them! I love the ratio of shortbread to the topping because I’m not a huge fan of the consistency of the lemon part (which is why I usually shy away from lemon bars.) I think I actually want a little more shortbread – it was delicious! Thank you!!
I disagree with the last comments. These lemon bars are awesome and the only lemon bars I like. I think they must have made them wrong because they are super good.
Nope, I did not make them wrong. Other people have had the issue with the crunchy, crust like top as well (which is because of the long beating time, you are beating air into it and when it bakes it bakes UP and forms the light crust). However, I can see that people who don’t like TRADITIONAL lemon bars like these because they are basically lemon flavored sugar and taste nothing like the traditional. I will say that they lasted a LONG time in my house (because we didn’t rally care for them, but didn’t want to throw them in the garbage) and after several (5 or 6 days) the flavors mellowed and it was less sugary tasting. So like I said, if you don’t like traditional ones then I udnerstand why you like these. I don’t think they are really comparable to traditional ones though, which I like.
I was very unpleased with the result of these lemon bars. I followed everything absolutely perfectly, and consider myself a fairly experienced baker. Beating the eggs until they are “frothy and very, very pale”, about 3 minutes caused them to have a crunchy crust like top on the bars after baking where the bubbles (froth) rose to the top. I pulled the bars out when they were lightly browned (the crunchy top was lightly browned anyway) and put them in the fridge overnight. When I cut into them the next morning the bars were too soft and didn’t hold their shape well when pulled apart. I also agree with Diane (comment 107) that these have too much sugar. They really do taste like lemon flavored sugar. I prefer a tart lemony taste and these just didn’t fit the bill.
I will also note that I was so unpleased with the result I would have been embarrased to take them to a BBQ like I had planned.
I thought the last episode of Lost was amazingly wonderful and I have to say the same about these lemon bars!
I made these last night and am quite disappointed. I entered the ingredients in Google and found the recipe on other sites and read the reviews, which I should have done first. I will make a version of this again because I love lemons but I would reduce the sugar by half a cup, double the lemon and bake longer at 325. Our family loves sweets, but these taste only like sugar with a hint of lemon.
Do you think this would work with lime instead of lemon? I’m assuming they are interchangeable, but wanted to make sure before I make them to take for other people to eat. 🙂
Not sure Jen, we’ve never tried that 🙂
This post couldnt be more precise!!!
I have made these bars SEVERAL times in hopes that they will turn out right, I don’t know what I”m doing wrong , but they are always SO runny! I love the taste of them with the glaze, so that’s why I keep trying, but do you have any suggestions as to why they come out so runny every time? I have even tried leaving them in longer to bake…. but no cigar 🙁
I honestly don’t know–I’ve never had that problem. Maybe try adding 1-2 tablespoons more flour and see if that helps?
just took them out of the oven i hope i can wait two hrs. They look yummy