Aunt Lindas Lemon Bars Recipes

AUNT JENNY'S LEMON BARS

Steps:

• Mix all crust ingredients together in a mixing bowl to form a dough.
• Press dough into the bottom of a greased or parchment lined 9x9 or 13x9 pan.
• Bake 15 min at 350 or until golden brown.
• Add all filing ingredients to a mixing bowl. Beat with whisk until combined.
• Pour filing on top of the crust. Bake for 25 min at 350.
• Let bars cool and then sprinkle with extra powdered sugar.

LEMON BARS

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.
• For the crust, cream the butter and sugar until light in the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment. Combine the flour and salt and, with the mixer on low, add to the butter until just mixed. Dump the dough onto a well-floured board and gather into a ball. Flatten the dough with floured hands and press it into a 9 by 13 by 2-inch baking sheet, building up a 1/2-inch edge on all sides. Chill.
• Bake the crust for 15 to 20 minutes, until very lightly browned. Let cool on a wire rack. Leave the oven on.
• For the filling, whisk together the eggs, sugar, lemon zest, lemon juice, and flour. Pour over the crust and bake for 30 to 35 minutes, until the filling is set. Let cool to room temperature.
• Cut into triangles and dust with confectioners' sugar.

GINA'S SIMPLE LEMON BARS

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 325 degrees F.
• Dice the butter and put into a food processor with the flour, and sugar. Pulse in short intervals until the mixture is crumbly and resembles coarse bread crumbs. Add the cold egg yolk, salt and water to the mixture, this will make a pastry dough. Place the dough onto a floured surface and form into a ball. Wrap in plastic and place in the refrigerator until cold.
• When the dough is cold, place on a floured surface and roll out to cover the bottom of a 13 by 9-inch pan. Bake for 20 minutes.
• Whisk eggs together and set aside.
• In a separate bowl mix the sugar, flour and baking powder together. Add the lemon zest and juice. Mix in the eggs until well combined. Pour the mixture over the par baked crust.
• Place in the oven and bake for 30 minutes until the center has set firmly. Remove from the oven and allow it to cool. Cut into bars.
• In a large bowl, mix all ingredients together and blend with a hand mixer on low until creamy. Pipe frosting onto lemon bars.

SUSAN'S PERFECT LEMON BARS

Steps:

• Adjust oven rack to middle position and heat oven to 350°F.
• Lightly butter a 9 x 13 inch baking dish and line it with a sheet of parchment paper.
• Dot parchment paper with butter, then lay a second sheet of parchment crosswise over the first one, allowing the ends to extend over the top edge of the pan by about 1 inch.
• To Mix Crust in Food Processor: In a food processor, fitted with steel blade, pulse together the flour, confectioner's sugar, cornstarch and salt to mix well.
• Add 12 Tablespoons butter and process to blend (about 8 to 10 seconds), then pulse until mixture is a pale yellow color and resembles a coarse meal, (about three-1-second bursts).
• To Mix Crust By Hand: Mix flour, confectioner's sugar, cornstarch and salt together in a medium bowl.
• Freeze butter and grate it on the large holes of a box grater into the flour mixture.
• Toss butter pieces to coat.
• Rub coated butter pieces between your fingers for a minute, until flour turns pale yellow and coarse.
• Sprinkle crust mixture into parchment lined pan.
• Using both hands, firmly press mixture into an even, 1/4" layer over the entire pan bottom and about 1/2" up the sides.
• Refrigerate for about 30 minutes.
• Remove chilled crust and bake at 350°F for about 20 minutes, or until golden brown.
• Filling: Prepare filling while crust is baking.
• In a medium bowl, whisk eggs, sugar and flour.
• Stir in lemon zest, juice, milk and salt; stirring to blend well.
• Remove crust from oven, and reduce oven temperature to 325°F.
• Stir filling mixture to reblend and pour over warm crust.
• Return bars to oven and bake about 20 minutes, or until filling feels firm when lightly touched.
• Remove from oven and place pan on wire rack to cool until almost room temperature (at least 30 minutes).
• Grasp the edges of the lengthwise parchment paper (long sides of the pan) and lift the lemon bars out of the pan and onto a cutting board or counter.
• Carefully peel the paper down from the sides and using a pizza cutter or knife, slice them into serving size bars, wiping pizza cutter or knife clean between cuts as necessary.
• Sieve confectioner's sugar over bars, if desired.
• Leftover bars can be sealed in plastic wrap and refrigerated for up to 2 days.

ALICE MEDRICH'S TANGY LEMON BARS

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 350°. Position a rack in the lower third of the oven.
• To make the crust: Cut butter into chunks and melt it in a medium saucepan over medium heat. Remove from the heat and stir in the sugar, vanilla, and salt. Add the flour and mix just until incorporated. Press the dough evenly over the bottom of the pan, Bake for 25- 30 minutes, or until the crust is well browned at the edges and lightly browned in the center.
• To make topping: While the crust is baking, stir together the sugar and flour in a medium bowl until well mixed. Whisk in the eggs. Stir in the lemon zest and juice. When the crust is ready, turn the oven down to 300 and slide the rack out without removing the pan. Pour the filling over the hot crust.
• Bake for 20- 25 minutes, or until the topping is puffed at the edges and no longer jiggles in the center when the pan is tapped. Set on a rack to cool completely in the pan. Lift the ends of the foil liner and transfer to a cutting board. Use a long sharp knife to cut into sixteen 2 inch bars. May be stored, airtight, in the refrigerator. Lemon bars keep perfectly for about 3 days; after 3 days the crust softens but the bars still taste quite good for the remainder of a week. Do not freeze. Sieve powdered sugar over the bars just before serving.
• Equipment: 8-inch square pan, lined on the bottom and up all 4 sides with foil.

AUDREY'S LEMON MERINGUE BARS

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 350°. Line a 13x9-in. baking pan with parchment, letting ends extend up sides., In a large bowl, combine flour, sugar and salt; cut in butter until mixture resembles coarse crumbs. Press into bottom of prepared pan. Bake until light golden brown, 20-25 minutes. Cool completely on a wire rack., For filling, in another large bowl, mix sugar, lemon juice, eggs, flour and zest until combined. Pour over crust. Bake until set and top is dry, 22-27 minutes., Meanwhile, for meringue, in a large bowl, beat egg whites with lemon zest and cream of tartar on medium speed until foamy. Gradually add sugar, 1 tablespoon at a time, beating on high after each addition until sugar is dissolved. Continue beating until stiff glossy peaks form. Spread or pipe over hot filling., Bake until meringue is golden brown, 15-18 minutes. Cool 1 hour on a wire rack. Refrigerate at least 4 hours before serving. Lifting with parchment, remove from pan. Cut into bars.