Lemon bars
A buttery shortbread crust under a bright, tart lemon layer, dusted with powdered sugar and cut into a tray of 16.
- 190 min total
- 25 min hands-on
- Follow-a-recipe easy
- Serves 16
- About $0.47 a serving
- 260 calories
- Good the next day
- Vegetarian
Dolly says: Make the full amount. Whatever’s left keeps for tomorrow.
Ingredients
For 16 servings.
- 1½ sticks butter
- 4 lemons, 1 zested, all juiced (about ⅔ cup)
- 4 large eggs
- 2 tbsp powdered sugar
From your pantry
- 2 cups sugar, divided
- ¼ tsp salt
- 2¼ cups all-purpose flour, divided
Each serving has about 260 calories, 4 g protein, 41 g carbs and 10 g fat, and costs about $0.47 at typical US grocery prices. Both are estimates from what the recipe uses.
Missing something?
- No butter? Ghee works.
- No lemons? Limes work.
Steps
Tap an underlined word for a quick explanation.
the oven to 350°F. a 9 by 13 inch pan and with , leaving the paper hanging over the long sides.
Preheat. Preheating means turning the oven on before you start, so it’s fully hot when the food goes in. Food that starts in a cold oven cooks unevenly and doesn’t brown the same.
How you’ll know: The oven beeps or its light clicks off, usually 10 to 15 minutes after you turn it on.
Grease. Greasing means rubbing a thin layer of butter or oil over the inside of a pan so food doesn’t stick. Get into the corners, where batter likes to cling.
How you’ll know: The pan looks evenly shiny all over, with no dry patches and nothing pooling in the bottom.
Line a pan. Lining a pan means covering the bottom, and often the sides, with parchment paper or foil before the food goes in. Leave the paper hanging over two sides, and you can lift bars or brownies out in one piece to cut them neatly.
How you’ll know: The paper lies flat against the bottom, with flaps sticking up on two sides like handles.
Parchment paper. Parchment paper is a nonstick, oven-safe paper for lining pans. Food lifts right off and cleanup is easy, but don’t swap in wax paper or put parchment under the broiler.
How you’ll know: It lies flat in the pan, and the food slides off when you lift it.
Microwave the butter in a large microwave-safe bowl until , about 1 minute, then stir in ½ cup of the sugar and the salt.
Melt. Melting means gently heating something solid, like butter or cheese, until it turns liquid. Low or medium heat keeps it from browning or burning.
How you’ll know: It’s smooth and liquid, and butter may foam a little but hasn’t turned brown.
Timer: 1 min
2 cups of the flour, stir it in until a soft, crumbly dough forms, and press it evenly into the pan.
Spoon and level. Spoon and level is how to measure flour: spoon it lightly into the measuring cup, then sweep the extra off the top with the back of a knife. Scooping straight from the bag packs in too much flour and makes bakes dry and heavy.
How you’ll know: The flour sits flat and even with the rim, and you never pressed it down or tapped the cup.
Dolly’s tip: Press it flat with the bottom of a measuring cup. An even crust bakes evenly.Food safety: Don’t eat raw dough or batter, not even a lick of the spoon. Raw flour can carry E. coli and raw eggs can carry salmonella until they’re cooked. The one exception is dough with no eggs, made with flour heated to 165°F.
Bake the crust 18 to 20 minutes, until light at the edges.
Golden brown. Golden brown is the color of good toast, somewhere between yellow and light brown. It means the outside is cooked and crisp but not burnt.
How you’ll know: It looks like toast and smells toasty; dark brown with a bitter smell means it went too far.
Timer: 18 min
While it bakes, 1 lemon and juice all 4; you want about ⅔ cup of juice.
Zest. Zest is the thin, colored outer layer of citrus peel, rubbed off on the smallest holes of a grater. It holds the fruit’s fragrant oils, so it adds bright flavor without the sourness of juice.
How you’ll know: You see bright flecks and smell citrus right away; stop when you reach the white layer, which is bitter.
the eggs, the rest of the sugar, ¼ cup flour, the and the lemon juice in a bowl until smooth.
Whisk. Whisking means beating quickly with a whisk or a fork to blend things together. It smooths out lumps and mixes eggs, oil or sauces evenly.
How you’ll know: It all looks one even color and texture, with no streaks or lumps.
Zest. Zest is the thin, colored outer layer of citrus peel, rubbed off on the smallest holes of a grater. It holds the fruit’s fragrant oils, so it adds bright flavor without the sourness of juice.
How you’ll know: You see bright flecks and smell citrus right away; stop when you reach the white layer, which is bitter.
Pour the filling over the hot crust and bake 20 to 25 minutes, until the filling and doesn’t jiggle when you nudge the pan.
Set. Set means food has firmed up from runny to holding its shape, from cooking, baking or chilling. Set eggs have no clear, runny white left, and a set pudding stays put when you tilt the dish.
How you’ll know: Tilt the pan or press gently near the middle: it barely wobbles, and nothing runs.
Timer: 20 min
Food safety: Custards, puddings and pie fillings made with eggs are done at 160°F in the middle. Without a thermometer: on the stove, cook until thick and gently bubbling; in the oven, until a knife slid in near the middle comes out clean.
Cool the pan for 1 hour, then at least 1 hour so the bars cut cleanly.
Cool on a rack. Cooling on a rack means setting a hot pan or fresh cookies on a wire grid, so air moves underneath and the bottom doesn’t steam and turn soggy. No rack? The cool grates of your stovetop work the same way.
How you’ll know: The bottom of the pan feels barely warm when you touch it, and bars cut cleanly instead of crumbling.
Chill. Chilling means putting something in the fridge until it’s cold all the way through. No-bake desserts firm up as they chill, and chilled cookie dough spreads less in the oven.
How you’ll know: It feels cold in the middle, not just on top, and it holds its shape when you cut or scoop it.
Timer: 60 min
Lift the slab out by the paper, with powdered sugar, and cut into 16 squares.
Dust. Dusting means sprinkling a fine, even layer of powdered sugar or cocoa over the top. Shake it through a small strainer, tapping the side, so it falls like snow instead of in clumps.
How you’ll know: The top looks evenly frosted, like a light snowfall, with no thick piles.
Food safety: Food with mayonnaise, dairy, eggs, cooked meat or cream, like dips, salads and cream desserts, can sit out for 2 hours at most, or 1 hour above 90°F. Keep cold food in the fridge or on ice until serving, and hot food at 140°F or hotter.
Plan this in Dollop, and get the grocery list
Dollop picks a dessert for treat night, puts what you need on the week’s grocery list, and walks you through each step.
