Lauraslemonbars Recipes

CLASSIC LEMON BARS

Steps:

• Make the crust: Position a rack in the middle of the oven and preheat to 350 degrees F. Grease a 9-by-13-inch pan with vegetable oil and line with foil, leaving a 2-inch overhang on all sides; grease the foil with oil. Pulse the butter, flour, both sugars and the salt in a food processor until the dough comes together, about 1 minute. Press evenly into the bottom and about 1/2 inch up the sides of the prepared pan, making sure there are no cracks. Bake until the crust is golden, about 25 minutes.
• Meanwhile, make the filling: Whisk the whole eggs and yolks, sugar and flour in a bowl until smooth. Whisk in the lemon zest and juice. Remove the crust from the oven and reduce the temperature to 300 degrees F. Pour the filling over the warm crust and return to the oven. Bake until the filling is just set, 30 to 35 minutes.
• Let the bars cool in the pan on a rack, then refrigerate until firm, at least 2 hours. Lift out of the pan using the foil and slice. Dust with confectioners' sugar 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.

EASY LEMON BARS

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C).
• Pour cake mix into a large bowl. Add the egg and oil; mix until well blended. Mixture will be slightly dry. Reserve one cup for the topping, and pat the rest into an ungreased 9x13 inch pan.
• Bake for 15 minutes in the preheated oven. Set aside to cool. Meanwhile, in a medium bowl, beat the cream cheese with the sugar and lemon juice until smooth. Spread the mixture evenly over the baked crust. Crumble the reserved cake mix mixture over the top.
• Bake for an additional 15 minutes in the preheated oven, or until filling is set and the topping is lightly toasted. Cool before cutting into bars. Refrigerate leftovers.

LAURA'S LEMON BARS

Steps:

• Make crust (mix sugar, flour and butter until it feels like dough).
• Press crust into sides and bottom of greased and floured 9 X 13 pan.
• Bake 25 minutes @350 until light brown.
• While baking crust, make mix by mixing eggs, sugar and lemon juice. Then add flour and baking powder to mix.
• Mix well and pour into finished crust.
• Bake 30 minutes.
• Cool in pan.
• Cut into squares.
• Decorate with confectioners sugar.
• Let stand uncovered to dry out.

THE BEST LEMON BARS

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Line a 9-by-13-inch baking pan with foil, leaving an overhang on 2 sides; spray lightly with nonstick cooking spray. Set aside.
• For the crust: Add the flour, cornstarch, confectioners' sugar and salt to the bowl of a food processor and pulse 10 times until combined. Add the cold butter and pulse until the mixture looks like coarse sand, about 30 times. (The dough will not come together in one mass.) Sprinkle the mixture evenly in the prepared pan and lightly pat it down. Bake, rotating the pan halfway through, until golden brown around the edges, 20 to 25 minutes.
• For the filling: Combine the eggs, yolks, sugar, flour, salt and lemon juice in a medium saucepan. Whisk continuously over medium heat, occasionally scraping down the sides and edges of the pan with a rubber spatula, until simmering and thickened, 4 to 5 minutes. Remove from the heat and whisk in the lemon zest and butter until combined.
• Lower the oven temperature to 300 degrees F. Pour the filling over the crust and bake until just set, 12 to 15 minutes.
• Place on a wire rack to cool to room temperature, then refrigerate until cold, about 2 hours.
• Use the foil overhang to lift the bars from the pan. Remove the foil and slice into squares. Dust with confectioners' sugar just before serving.