No-Fail Lemon Bars with Shortbread Crust
Silky, tart, perfectly sweet, and extra summery. These No-Fail Lemon Bars with Shortbread Crust are a must-bake any time of year, but especially during the summer months!
Ingredients
Crust
- 1 ½ cups all purpose flour
- ½ cup powdered sugar
- 10 Tablespoons salted butter, room temperature
- 3 large egg yolks, room temperature
- 1 teaspoon vanilla
Filling
- 2 cups sugar
- 16 large egg yolks
- 1 cup lemon juice
- 2 Tablespoons lemon zest
- ¾ cup salted butter, room temperature
Instructions
Crust
- Line a 9-inch square ceramic or glass baking pan with parchment paper. Set aside.
- In a medium bowl, sift together flour and powdered sugar.
- Add butter.
- Beat with an electric mixer until it looks like corn meal, about 2-3 minutes.
- Add egg yolks and vanilla.
- Continue to mix until it forms a smooth dough, about 2-3 minutes.
- Turn dough into prepared pan.
- Press dough down to cover bottom of pan evenly.
- Refrigerate for at least 30 minutes.
- While crust is chilling, heat oven to 350 degrees F.
- Bake crust until lightly browned around edges, about 15-20 minutes.
- Remove to cooling rack.
- Reduce oven temperature to 325 degrees F.
Filling
- In a large bowl, whisk together sugar, eggs yolks, lemon juice, and lemon zest.
- Place over the top of a pot of simmering water.
- Cook while stirring until curd has thickened to a pudding consistency, about 20-30 minutes.
- Remove from heat.
- Strain through a fine mesh sieve into a clean bowl.
- Whisk in butter.
- Pour on top of baked crust.
- Bake for 10-12 minutes, until mostly set.
- Remove from oven.
- Allow to cool completely before slicing.
Notes
- Make sure your eggs, butter, and lemons are at room temperature!
- Sift the flour and powdered sugar for the crust. This ensures no lumps!
- You can use blood oranges, naval oranges, or grapefruit in place of the lemon.
- Check your oven temperature! Make sure they're accurate. A few degrees off could cause your bars to burn or be undercooked.
- Allow the bars to cool completely before lifting out of the pan.
- Before lifting out of the pan, take a small knife and cut the custard away from the parchment paper. You shouldn't have to cut all the way down, just the very top.
- Want clean cuts? Be sure to wipe the knife after each cut!
Nutrition
Serving: 1 barCalories: 362kcalCarbohydrates: 40gProtein: 5gFat: 21gSaturated Fat: 12gPolyunsaturated Fat: 1gMonounsaturated Fat: 6gTrans Fat: 1gCholesterol: 261mgSodium: 149mgPotassium: 57mgFiber: 1gSugar: 29gVitamin A: 777IUVitamin C: 7mgCalcium: 35mgIron: 1mg
Nutritional information is only an estimate. The accuracy of the nutritional information for any recipe on this site is not guaranteed.