I figured I owed us a little dessert to make up for all the savory features this week. 😉
Lemon is one of those things that up until I was writing a food blog, I could live without. I’d never spritzed any on my fish, enjoyed a lemon based sauce, and the thought of a lemon dessert made me stick up my nose in protest like a small child.
And then it happened… There was a Ina’s Cheese Danishes with just a hint of lemon zest (which at the time I didn’t enjoy that much), a lemon pie, the infamous Baked Lemon Lemon loaf (which I think was really where it all went downhill), and even lemony pops (which were awesome to me but too tart for the BF’s sweet-tooth).
I know they say that our taste-buds change over time but I really believe the my new more open outlook on foods has a lot more to do with me broadening my horizons more then any physical change. I’ve experimented with fruit this season – FRUIT?! For those of you who don’t know me…. well that’s just craziness in my kitchen. There have been strawberries, honeydew, bananas, and even blueberries all in this kitchen within the last few weeks. What the heck is happening to me?
Lemon Bars
Discovered on Tracey’s Culinary Adventures from Baking Illustrated
Ingredients:
For the Crust:
- 1 1/4 cups (6 1/4 oz) all-purpose flour
- 1/2 cup (2 oz) confectioners’ sugar
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 8 tablespoons (1 stick) unsalted butter, softened & cut into 1-inch pieces
For the Filling:
- 7 large egg yolks, plus 2 large eggs
- 1 cup plus 2 tablespoons (7 7/8 oz) sugar
- 2/3 cup freshly squeezed lemon juice
- 1/4 cup lemon zest
- pinch salt
- 4 tablespoons (1/2 stick) unsalted butter, cut into 4 pieces
- 3 tablespoons heavy cream
Preparation:
To make the crust: Spray a 9-inch square baking pan with cooking spray. Line the pan with aluminum foil, leaving an overhang on opposite sides to lift the bars out after they’ve baked. Spray the aluminum foil with cooking spray.
Add the flour, confectioners’ sugar and salt to the bowl of your food processor. Pulse a few times to combine. Add the butter and process to blend, about 8-10 seconds. Pulse just a few more times, until the mixture is pale yellow and resembles coarse meal. Dump the mixture into the prepared baking pan and use the tips of your fingers to press it into an even layer over the bottom of the pan. Refrigerate the crust for 30 minutes.
While the crust is chilling, preheat the oven to 350 F. Bake the crust for about 20 minutes, or until golden brown.
While the crust bakes, make the filling: In a medium bowl, whisk the egg yolks and eggs together until combined. Combine the sugar and lemon zest in a small bowl and use your fingertips to rub the zest into the sugar until the sugar is moist and fragrant. Add the sugar to the egg mixture and whisk to combine. Finally, add the lemon juice and salt and whisk until all ingredients are blended.
Transfer the filling to a medium saucepan and add the butter. Stirring continuously, cook over medium-low heat until the curd thickens slightly and registers 170 F on an instant-read thermometer. Pour the curd through a strainer into a medium heatproof bowl. Add the heavy cream and stir to combine. Pour the filling over the warm crust (this is important – you don’t want to let the crust cool before adding the filling).
Bake for 10-15 minutes, or until the filling is shiny and the center jiggles just slightly when shaken. Remove the pan to a wire rack and cool completely. Use the foil to lift the bars out of the pan and cut into squares. Dust with confectioners’ sugar if desired.
I ate one of these and enjoyed it!
Do our taste buds really change or is that just our parents way of trying to get us to try something we would have normally protested?
I also didn’t really like lemon that much until recently. Your lemon bars look so pretty!
So with you on the lemon, but I made lemon squares (great minds think alike!) recently and I fell in love! I actually used this same recipe but had a fail. I had to try another twice to get it right. Great job- yours look great!
These look so good, I can’t wait to try making them! Looking forward to some more “fruit” recipes : ) !
Love the lemon bars! I made them a few months ago, and they were brilliant! Unlike you, I’ve always loved the flavor, and my 20 month old daughter seems to be following in my footsteps. One of her favorite things to do is to suck on a piece of lemon! LOL 😀 Thanks for sharing 🙂
Nothing says, “High tea” to me like a beautiful sugar dusted lemon bar! Yours look perfect!
Haha well I am glad you decided to venture out and bring some fruit into your kitchen! These look beyond yummy Kita! I have to say that lemon is one of my favorites when it comes to desserts. You did a fantastic job!
These look wonderful! And I am right there with you – I haven’t broken down yet, but I have only been blogging for about 6 weeks. But before now, I have never been tempted by anything lemon. Now, I want to make it!!
I keep saying I need to make these everytime someone makes them. One day…
I love anything lemon. These are making my mouth water over here!
I love lemon, I spritz it on everything now, curries, salads, my hair! :D. A neighbour has just given me a huge bag of lemons, I was going to make lemonade but your lemon curd bars look so tempting…
Now you’ve got me wanting to try lemon. I’m not usually a huge lemon fan, but in looking at these I think I need to give lemon another chance. The filling looks devine!
I have lots of foods that I’m trying to “broaden my horizons” with :). These lemon bars look amazing! If they taste anything like they look then I’m sure they are!
Yeee for the lemons. I discovered my first lemon dessert last year and fell in love.
These bars look so darn good, I’m so glad you re-thought the whole lemon thing 🙂
Have a great day Kita
I keep forgetting I want to make lemon bars this summer. These look scrumptious, even though they take so many eggs! Looking forward to some cavity-inducing lemony goodness 😀
Sounds so great Kita! I just made lemon bars a couple weeks ago…it’s great how everyone has a little bit different recipe!
Lemon bars were one of my favorite desserts growing up, but I haven’t made them in years. Thanks for the recipe!
I think it’s one of those things that inevitably happens when you start blogging about food – you read about interesting new flavours and dishes, you see the gorgeous photos, and you start to wonder if maybe you’ve been wrong about something all along.
Lately, whenever I see a new ingredient, I don’t think “I’ve never made that before, so I won’t bother”… I think “I’ve never made that before. I should take some home and play around with it!”
PS – Lemon bars are my favourite. Actually, anything lemon-flavoured… but lemon bars in particular.
Man, those are the most perfect lemon bars I’ve ever seen! These will be my go-to recipe from now on…yum, yum!
Either your photos are just that awesome, or that really is the bestest lemon bar I have ever seen! Honest… they look amazing.
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These look like the perfect lemon bars! Lovely photos 🙂
I love lemon!!! These look amazing!! Anytime you have too much – you could always drop the leftovers off – especially if it is lemon!!!
Lemon is one of my favorite additions. It can really add some ‘wow’ to an ordinary dish 🙂 Great lemon bars, thanks for sharing!
Lemon bars are my downfall and I cannot seem to eat just one. I wish I could reach out and grab one right now. I have also found many wonderful things on Tracey’s Culinary Adventures.
I was the same way with lemon, only in the past couple years did I start making recipes with it 🙂 These bars are beautiful, I bet they are scrumptious!!
I never liked veggies growing up but I love them now 🙂 I think my parents didn’t have any creative ways of making them – they just boiled, served them and expected us to eat them. Yuck 🙂
I made the lemon bars yesterday and flavour is phenomenal! Not too sweet but not too tart either! I do have one question – I made them to take over to a friend’s house and I dusted them with icing sugar before I left my house. I kept them in a Tupperware container and when I opened it about an hour later, the icing sugar had been absorbed by the lemon curd. There was still bits of icing sugar on the side. Is there anything I could have done to keep the icing sugar on top of the bars?
amazing blog ,you have very few follwers,for such a good blog,iam for sure following you,and telling my friends to do the same.
charishma