Old Fashioned Lemon Bars

I love lemons! Lemon bars, lemon candy, lemonade, lemon colour, lemon scent.... the list could go on and on. Every time I slice into a lemon, the delightful aroma of citrus brightens my mood. The distinctive sour taste of lemon juice adds the perfect tartness in many dishes. There is something definitely cheerful about the scent, colour and taste of lemon which is way I decided to make old fashioned lemon bars today. These sweet, tangy, lemon bars will lift anyone's mood especially during these long winter days when we all need a little cheerful boost!! Beside that all of us can use an extra dose of vitamin C right? 


I found a really great blog all about lemons, click here to visit  Lemon Mania.com. Lemons are rich in Vitamin C. A lemon holds between 60-100mg of vitamin C depending on the size and quality. The recommended daily dosage of  vitamin C is somewhere between 75 mg and 90 mg. One lemon in your diet everyday will take care of your body's daily need for vitamin C. I always use freshly squeezed lemon juice when I make these bars, 8 fresh lemons to be exact, so there is no need to feel guilty about having a bigger piece.   


These old fashioned lemon bars are one of my favorite desserts to make because they are so easy to make, they require few ingredients but more importantly because they are made with fresh lemons :) Consider these tart lemon bars your new go-to recipe.  I found this recipe in a magazine and modified it to my liking. When life gives you lemons, make lemon bars!!

~ Old Fashioned Lemon Bars ~

   Ingredients for the crust:

1 1/2 cup butter diced & softened

2 cups all purpose flour

3/4 cup icing sugar

1/4 teaspoon salt

6 large eggs plus 3 egg yolks

3 cups sugar

1/2 cup all-purpose flour

1 1/2 cup fresh lemon juice 

(from about 8-10 lemons)

1 teaspoon grated lemon zest

* The zest is the yellow outer part of the lemon. The zest contains the aromatic citrus oils and adds extra tang and flavour.Use the side of grater with fine holes to grate zest. You can zest all the lemons at once, use the amount you need and store the rest in a ziploc bag in the freezer. * 

Preheat the oven to 350*. Grease a 9 x 13 inch pan with vegetable oil and line with foil, leaving a 2-inch overhang on all sides, grease the foil with oil. If your using a pan that you can cut lemon bars right in the pan without ruining the finish you can skip the foil. 

Make the crust:

In the bowl of your mixer combine, flour, icing sugar, salt and butter (cubed). Mix on low till flour is almost incorporated. Mix on medium-high for 1-2 minutes till the dough comes together and is crumbly.   

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 crust is golden, about 20 minutes.

Make the filling:

While crust is baking, whisk the whole eggs, and yolks, sugar and flour in a bowl until smooth. Whisk in the lemon zest and juice. Remove crust from the oven. 

Reduce temperature to 300* degrees. Pour the filling over the warm crust and return to oven. 

Bake until filling is just set, 40-45 minutes. Let the bars cool in the pan on a rack, then refrigerate until firm, at least 2 hours. Cut  lemon bars in right in pan or lift bars out of pan using foil, remove foil and slice. Dust with icing sugar before serving.

Make some lemon bars and spread some cheer :) 

Tart, lemony perfection in one slice!!

Shortbread crust, delicious tangy lemon filling, lightly dusted with icing sugar!!

Have a great weekend

 Thanks for stopping by!!