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Classic Homemade Lemon Bars

Lemon bars are a delightful treat with a buttery crumbly crust topped with a tangy lemon curd. They are simple to make with a few basic pantry ingredients and are always a crowd favorite.

I personally may love chocolate or anything with chocolate like chocolate chip pudding cookies but I do know not everyone does. My husband would much prefer anything but chocolate like my no bake guava cheesecake bars or this easy key lime pie. Lemon bars happen to be his favorite! 

These lemon bars are a wonderful combination of crumbly crust and tangy filling topped with just a bit of powdered sugar. They aren’t overly sweet which may make you want to eat the whole batch!

I wouldn’t recommend eating them all by yourself though, so ask some friends over to help you eat it. They’ll thank you!

A stack of lemon bars

Ingredients you need:

  • Butter
  • Powdered sugar
  • Flour
  • Lemon zest
  • Eggs
  • Sugar
  • Lemon juice

I prefer to use fresh lemon juice for this because it has the best flavor. If you don’t have fresh lemon juice on hand, bottled lemon juice will work as well.

Do lemon bars always have powdered sugar on top?

Dusting with powdered sugar on top is not a must if you don’t want, but it does help with the cutting. My husband prefers the lemon bars with either a really light dusting of powdered sugar or none at all.

Tip: If you don’t want to use powdered sugar on top, wipe your knife clean in between cuts to keep it from sticking to the lemon bars.

collage of baked short bread crust and uncooked lemon curd

How To Make Lemon Bars:

  • Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
  • In a bowl, mix together powdered sugar and flour. Cube butter into small chunks and use a pastry blender to cut butter into flour mixture until mixture resembles crumbs.
  • Pat flour and butter crumbs into a greased 8 by 8 inch pan. Bake for 25 minutes.
  • Meanwhile, mix eggs and sugar together until well combined. Then add lemon juice, lemon zest, and flour and mix well.
  • Pour over the baked crust and bake for an additional 25 minutes.
  • Remove from oven and allow to cool. Dust with powdered sugar and cut into squares. showing process of making shortbread crust

If you want, you can use a food processor instead of a bowl and pastry blender for step 2.

Tips and Tricks

Can this recipe be doubled?

This recipe can easily be doubled! Bake the lemon bars in a 9 by 13 pan instead of an 8 by 8 pan.

What is the easiest way to cut lemon bars?

To make it easier to remove the lemon bars from the pan, line the pan with parchment paper or foil, allowing extra to hang out over the pan to make it easier to remove the lemon bars.

Then, place the lemon bars on a cutting board and cut into squares. Remember to remove the parchment paper or foil before cutting.

How long will lemon bars keep for?

Lemon bars will keep in the refrigerator for up to a week. Store in an air tight container.

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Classic Homemade Lemon Bars

A stack of lemon bars

Classic Homemade Lemon Bars

These incredibly tasty homemade lemon bars are the classic tangy dessert with a delectable shortbread crust topped with tart lemon curd. If you've ever been afraid of making these from scratch this recipe with photos of the steps will help you be prepared to make them from scratch.
Prep Time: 15 minutes
Cook Time: 50 minutes
Total Time: 1 hour 5 minutes
Course: Dessert
Cuisine: American
Servings: 12 servings
Calories: 198kcal
Author: Jade Jones

Ingredients

For crust:

  • ½ cup butter
  • ¼ cup powdered sugar
  • 1 cup flour

For lemon filling:

  • 2 eggs beaten
  • 1 cup sugar
  • 3 Tbsp lemon juice
  • 1 Tbsp lemon zest about 1 lemon’s worth
  • 3 Tbsp flour

Instructions

  • Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.

To make shortbread crust:

  • In a bowl, mix together powdered sugar and flour. Cube butter into small chunks and use a pastry blender to cut butter into flour mixture until mixture resembles crumbs.
  • Pat flour and butter crumbs into a greased 8 by 8 inch pan. Bake for 25 minutes.

To make lemon curd:

  • Meanwhile, mix eggs and sugar together until well combined. Then add lemon juice, lemon zest, and flour and mix well.
  • Pour over the baked crust and bake for an additional 25 minutes.
  • Remove from oven and allow to cool. Dust lightly with additional powdered sugar and cut into squares.

Notes

Note: If desired, you can use a food processor instead of a bowl and pastry blender for step 2.

Nutrition

Sodium: 78mg | Calcium: 8mg | Vitamin C: 2mg | Vitamin A: 276IU | Sugar: 19g | Fiber: 1g | Potassium: 25mg | Cholesterol: 48mg | Calories: 198kcal | Saturated Fat: 5g | Fat: 9g | Protein: 2g | Carbohydrates: 29g | Iron: 1mg
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5 Comments

  1. 5 stars
    A fantastic recipe for amazing lemon bars. The bars are lemony and delicious. You made it easy for me to follow the recipe and I now cut my bars better.

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