The Best Lemon Squares Recipes

EASY LEMON SQUARES

Steps:

• Pre-heat oven to 350F (180C). Lightly grease and flour an 8x8 inch (20x20cm) square cake pan or line with parchment paper.

LEMON BARS RECIPE

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 350°F. Line a 9x9 or an 8x8 pan with foil and spray with nonstick cooking spray.
• Make the crust by creaming the butter with a hand or a stand mixer (fitted with the paddle attachment) until smooth. Add powdered sugar, flour, and salt and mix slowly until the mixture is crumbly but sticks together when you press it between your fingers. Press the crust into the bottom of the prepared pan. Bake for about 13 minutes, or until it just starts to get a light golden brown around the edges.
• While the crust is baking, whisk the eggs until beaten. Whisk in the sugar, lemon zest, salt, and lemon juice. Pour over hot crust, then continue to bake for 15-18 minutes, or until the mixture is no longer liquid in the center and it's lightly golden brown on top.
• Cool completely before removing from pan. Remove foil, then dust with powdered sugar. Slice and serve, dusting with more powdered sugar as desired.

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.

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.

THE BEST LEMON SQUARES

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 350º.
• Lightly grease an 9x9" square baking dish with butter.
• For the base, process the flour and confectioners sugar in a food processor for several seconds.
• Add the butter and process until the dough comes together, 20-30 seconds.
• Press the dough gently and evenly over the bottom of the prepared pan.
• Glaze it with the egg white: Pour the egg white on the dough and tip the pan from side to side so that the egg white spreads over the surface. Pour out the excess.
• Bake the base on the center oven rack until golden, about 20-25 minutes.
• Place the base in the refrigerator for 15 minutes to cool completely. Keep the oven on.
• Meanwhile prepare the topping: Gently whisk the eggs in a medium-size bowl until lightly mixed.
• Add the remaining topping ingredients and continue to whisk gently until they are blended.
• Pour the topping evenly over the base. .
• Bake until the top is set and golden, about 20-25 minutes. .
• Allow the lemon squares to cool completely.
• Sprinkle the surface with confectioners sugar and cut into squares with a sharp knife that is dipped in hot water and wiped dry before each cut.
• Tip: If you plan to keep the squares longer than a day, put them in an air-tight container and refrigerate. You can also freeze them.

LEMONIEST LEMON SQUARES

Steps:

• Crust: Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Combine flour and confectioner's sugar in the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, and beat on low speed until mixed. Add butter and continue to mix until the butter is the size of small peas, about 30 seconds. The mixture will be very dry. Gently press the mixture evenly onto the bottom of a 9-by-13-inch baking pan.
• Bake until golden brown, 20 to 25 minutes. Let cool to room temperature. Reduce the oven temperature to 300 degrees.
• Filling: In a large bowl, whisk together eggs and granulated sugar until smooth. Stir in lemon juice and then flour. Pour the filling on top of the crust.
• Bake until the lemon filling is set, about 40 minutes. Let cool to room temperature and then put in the refrigerator for an hour or keep at room temperature for three hours before cutting. Cut into squares, about 2 1/4 inches. Dust tops with confectioner's sugar.