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Lemon bars on a white platter with tea service in the background

Super Easy Lemon Bars

Using only 5 simple ingredients & a very quick preparation time, this is the easiest & best lemon bar recipe I've ever tried in almost 40 years of baking.
Course Dessert
Cuisine North American
Prep Time 20 minutes
Cook Time 40 minutes
Total Time 1 hour
Servings 36 cookie bars
Calories 125 kcal
Author Barry C. Parsons

Ingredients

For the pastry base

  • 1 cup cold butter cut in small pieces
  • 1/2 cup sugar
  • 2 cups flour

For the lemon layer

  • 1 1/2 cups sugar
  • 1/4 cup flour
  • 4 eggs
  • zest of two lemons very finely chopped
  • juice of 2 lemons about 2/3 to 3/4 cup juice

Instructions

To make the pastry base

  1. Using a pastry cutter or in a food processor blend together the butter sugar and flour.
  2. Press evenly into the bottom of a greased and parchment paper lined 9×13 inch baking pan.
  3. Bake for 20 to minutes at 350 degrees F ( 325 degrees F if you are using glass bake-ware) The bottom should just be beginning to brown slightly at the top edges.

For the lemon topping

  1. Simply whisk together the sugar flour, eggs, zest and lemon juice until the sugar is dissolved.
  2. Allow the topping to sit for about 10 minutes before whisking together well again and pouring over the baked shortbread base.
  3. Bake at 350 degrees F for about another 20- 25 minutes or until the top is slightly browned and the custard appears to be set. Cool completely. Sprinkle with icing sugar when cool or try adding a meringue topping.

The nutritional information provided is automatically calculated by third party software and is meant as a guideline only. Exact accuracy is not guaranteed. For recipes where all ingredients may not be used entirely, such as those with coatings on meats, or with sauces or dressings for example, calorie & nutritional values per serving will likely be somewhat lower than indicated.