Lemon bars

A coworker of mine has been begging me to bring in lemon bars to work. So, I decided to spend this rainy Sunday afternoon making these tasty bars. We ate a few and I'll take some to work tomorrow.

Recipe from JoyofBaking. Pictures from my kitchen.

Lemon Bars

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F and place rack in the center of oven. Grease with butter (or use cooking spray) a 8x8 inch pan.

Crust:

1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, room temperature

1/4 cup confectioners (powered) sugar

1 cup all purpose flour

1/8 teaspoon salt

FOR CRUST: In the bowl of your electric mixer, or with a hand mixer, cream the butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Add the flour and salt and beat until the dough just comes together. Press into the bottom of your greased pan and bake for about 20 minutes, or until lightly browned. Remove from oven and place on a wire rack to cool while you make the filling.

FILLING:

1 cup granulated white sugar

2 large eggs

1/3 cup fresh lemon juice (approximately two large lemons)

1 tablespoon grated lemon zest (2 lemons)

2 tablespoons all purpose flour

FOR FILLING: In your electric mixer, or with a hand mixer, beat the sugar and eggs until nice and smooth. Add the lemon juice and zest and stir to combine. Fold in the flour. Pour the filling over the shortbread crust and bake for about 20 minutes, or until the filling is set. Remove from oven and place on a wire rack to cool.

TO SERVE: Cut into squares or triangles and dust with powdered sugar. These are best eaten the day they are made but can be covered and stored in the refrigerator for a few days.

Yield: 16 - 2 inch squares or 32 triangles.

REVIEW: Yum x 10. The hubs graded them an A- which is good since he's not a fan of lemon. YAY!

PS I should say that this is the best shortbread crust I've ever tasted and it was so flaky and a perfect compliment to sweet and subtly tart lemon filling. :)