Blue Ribbon Lemon Bars Recipes

LEMON BARS

Steps:

• For the crust: Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Grease a 9-by-13-inch pan with butter and line with foil.
• Cut together the butter, flour, granulated sugar and salt. Press into the prepared pan and bake until golden, about 20 minutes.
• For the filling: Whisk together the granulated sugar, flour and eggs until smooth. Add the lemon zest and juice and mix until combined. Pour over the crust and bake until just set, about 20 minutes.
• Allow to cool in the fridge for a minimum of 2 hours, then sift powdered sugar over the top before cutting into squares.

LEMON-BLUEBERRY BARS

Steps:

• Heat oven to 325 degrees and line a 9-inch square baking dish with parchment paper so it hangs over the edges on all sides by a few inches. (You may need to use two pieces of parchment.)
• Make the crust: In the bowl of a food processor, pulse to combine the flour, confectioners' sugar, lemon zest and salt. Add butter and pulse until a crumbly dough forms, about 10 seconds. (Or mix dry ingredients in a bowl and use pastry cutter to cut in butter, clumping the mixture together in your hands until it holds together.) Press dough into prepared pan. Bake until light golden, 25 to 35 minutes.
• As crust bakes, make the curd: In a medium pot, whisk together the granulated sugar, lemon juice, egg yolks, whole eggs, cornstarch and fine sea salt until well combined. Place over medium heat and stir with a heatproof rubber spatula (or wooden spoon), making sure to scrape around the sides and edges of the pot, until mixture is simmering and thickened, 5 to 10 minutes.
• Bring mixture to a boil and let cook for about 30 seconds, but no longer than 1 minute. Immediately strain through a fine mesh sieve into a bowl. Stir in butter, lemon zest and lime zest, and stir until butter melts. Stir in blueberries.
• Pour mixture over crust, then stir to evenly distribute berries. Return to oven, and bake until blueberries begin to burst and curd starts to turn golden around the edges, 33 to 45 minutes. Transfer to a wire rack to cool to room temperature. Chill in the refrigerator until thoroughly cold before cutting, at least 3 hours. Dust lightly with confectioners' sugar right before serving.

THE BEST LEMON BARS

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C).
• In a medium bowl, blend together softened butter, 2 cups flour and 1/2 cup sugar. Press into the bottom of an ungreased 9x13 inch pan.
• Bake for 15 to 20 minutes in the preheated oven, or until firm and golden. In another bowl, whisk together the remaining 1 1/2 cups sugar and 1/4 cup flour. Whisk in the eggs and lemon juice. Pour over the baked crust.
• Bake for an additional 20 minutes in the preheated oven. The bars will firm up as they cool. For a festive tray, make another pan using limes instead of lemons and adding a drop of green food coloring to give a very pale green. After both pans have cooled, cut into uniform 2 inch squares and arrange in a checker board fashion.

BLUE RIBBON LEMON BARS

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 350°.
• Make crust first.
• In a large bowl, add in your 2 cups flour, 1/2 cup powdered sugar, melted butter, mix with a pastry blender until crumbly.
• Press mixture into a greased 9 x 13 pan, poke crust with fork all over so crust doesn't bubble up.
• Bake 10-15 minutes or until golden. Be sure to make sure crust doesn't turn brown.
• Take crust out and let rest 10 minutes.
• Leave oven on. While crust is resting make filling.
• In a large mixing bowl beat on low eggs, 1/4 cup flour, lemon juice, lemon rind, baking powder, salt, sugar and vanilla.
• Pour filling mixture over crust and bake 60 minutes. When done take out of oven and sprinkle 1/2 cup of powdered sugar over while warm.
• Chill bars at least 1 1/2 hours before eating.

COUNTY FAIR FIRST PRIZE BLUE RIBBON LEMON BARS

Steps:

• First Make the Base:.
• 2 cups flour.
• ¼ cup sugar.
• 1 cup butter softened.
• Preheat Oven to 350.
• Cut ingredients together in a large bowl.
• Pat crust into 13 X 9 inch baking dish.
• Bake for 15 minutes.
• Then:.
• Make the Topping :.
• 2 cups sugar.
• 1 tsp baking powder.
• ¼ cup flour.
• 3 eggs.
• 2/3 cup lemon juice.
• Grated rind of 2 lemons.
• Mix ingredients together in a large bowl and pour over crust. Bake another 20 minutes.
• Cool, sprinkle with powdered sugar and cut into squares.

BLUEBERRY-LEMON CRUMB BARS

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 400 degrees F (200 degrees C). Grease a 9x13 inch baking pan.
• Start by making the crust. In a medium bowl, stir together the 2 cups flour, 2 tablespoons white sugar, lemon zest and salt. Cut in the 1/2 cup butter until the mixture resembles coarse crumbs. Beat egg and vanilla together; stir into the crumb mixture until a dough forms. Press into the bottom of the prepared pan.
• Bake for 12 to 15 minutes in the preheated oven, until golden. Remove from oven and set aside to cool slightly.
• Sprinkle blueberries over the crust. Combine the 1/4 cup sugar and nutmeg; sprinkle over the blueberries. Make the topping: In a medium bowl, cream together the 5 tablespoons butter and brown sugar until smooth. Mix in the flour, so that the mixture is crumbly like streusel. Sprinkle over the blueberry layer.
• Bake for 20 to 25 minutes in the preheated oven, until browned. Cool and then dust with confectioners' sugar before cutting into bars.