Lemon Bars
I love lemon! Two of my favorite recipes are this lemon curd ice cream, and these lemon raspberry muffins with cream cheese, but nothing, and I mean nothing, beats classic lemon bars.
And, what’s not to like? The bottom crust is a simple 4-ingredient shortbread. It’s so buttery and so delicious you could honestly eat it on its own after it’s baked. But why would you do that when you can top it with a luscious, creamy, tart lemon filling?
Learning how to make lemon squares is a simple skill that will serve you for years to come! Whether it’s for an after-dinner dessert, a school bake sale, or a baby shower, this is an easy, homemade, from-scratch recipe you can pull out of your back pocket any time that everyone will love.
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💞 Why You’ll Love This Recipe
✔️ It’s very easy to make and in one bowl too!
✔️ You can serve them sliced larger for dessert, or smaller for receptions or tea parties.
✔️ Lemon bars with shortbread crust are freakin’ delicious!
📋 Ingredients
For The Shortbread Crust
For The Lemon Filling
Ingredient Notes
- Lemon Zest—feel free to omit if you want.
It’s important to note that when making substitutions in recipes, the texture and flavor may be slightly different. However, these substitutes are the best options if you are looking to change the original recipe.
Ingredient Substitutions
- Lemons—grapefruit is a nice substitute for lemon. You can substitute fresh oranges in this recipe, however, the bars may taste sweeter as the juice is much sweeter than lemon juice.
- Lemon Juice—you can substitute bottled lemon juice if you need to but I don’t recommend doing this as it won’t taste the same.
Use the JUMP TO RECIPE button at the top of this post, or scroll to the bottom of the post, to see the PRINTABLE recipe card with ingredient measurements and complete instructions.
👩🍳 How To Make Lemon Bars
STEP 1—Start by making the shortbread crust. Cream the butter and sugar together until light and fluffy.
STEP 2—Add the flour and salt and mix on low until the flour is well distributed. The mixture should be coarse and crumbly.
STEP 3—Dump the crumbs into a greased and lined square pan. Use your hands to press the crust into a firm even layer.
STEP 4—Bake the crust and set it on a wire rack.
STEP 5—While the crust is baking make the lemon filling. In the same bowl you made the crust in, mix the lemon zest and juice, sugar, salt, and eggs until smooth.
STEP 6—Sift the flour into the bowl and mix on low.
STEP 7—The lemon filling should be smooth with no visible lumps of flour.
STEP 8—Pour the lemon filling over the hot crust. Carefully return the pan to the oven and bake until the filling is set. Cool completely before slicing and decorating (optional).
🗣 Expert Tips
1. Let the bars cool completely, at least two hours, and preferably longer, before slicing.
2. Use a sharp knife with a smooth blade (not serrated) to slice. Press straight down firmly on the knife until you feel the blade slice through the shortbread crust.
3. A sprinkle of powdered sugar and/or a scattering of mini meringues is a pretty way to decorate lemon bars.
📝 Recipe Notes
- For best flavor, I prefer using lemon juice that’s fresh squeezed.
- If you’d rather make the bars without lemon zest, simply omit it from the recipe.
- For a cleaner slice, dip the knife in a glass of hot tap water and then dry it with a tea towel. Make a slice, then repeat, warming the knife and drying it, before slicing again.
- I cut lemon bars into 9 large squares to serve as dessert. If serving at a party or reception, slice them into smaller squares, or even slice the squares in half to make small triangles.
- To freeze—after slicing, lay the bars out, not touching, on a baking sheet or a couple of plates that fit in your freezer. Freeze the bars for 2 to 3 hours. Remove the bars from the freezer and double wrap them in parchment or waxed paper, or plastic wrap. Store the individually wrapped bars in a large container or zipper-top bag for up to one month. To serve, simply remove a bar and unwrap it, then thaw at room temperature.
Did you make these lemon bars? Please rate the recipe and tell me how it went in the comments below. Also, stay in touch with me on Instagram, Facebook, and Pinterest to see more delicious food and recipes!
🖨 Recipe
Lemon Bars
Equipment
- 9-inch (23-cm) square baking pan
- Baking spray
- Parchment paper
- Measuring cups and spoons or digital kitchen scale
- Hand or stand mixer
- Large mixing bowl
- Spatula or wooden spoon
- Microplane or other lemon zester
- Citrus squeezer or juicer
- Fine mesh sieve optional
- Wire cooling rack
Ingredients
For The Shortbread Crust
- ½ cup butter, plus 2 tablespoons
- ¼ cup sugar
- 1 ¼ cups all-purpose flour
- ¼ teaspoon salt
For The Lemon Filling
- 1 medium lemon, zest only
- ½ cup lemon juice, freshly squeezed
- 1 ½ cups sugar
- 3 large eggs
- ¼ cup all-purpose flour, plus 2 tablespoons
- ¼ teaspoon salt
Instructions
Make The Shortbread Crust
- Preheat the oven to 350ºF (180ºC). Spray a 9-inch (23-cm) square baking pan lightly with baking spray. Line the pan with parchment paper, leaving a small overhang to use as handles on all four sides.
- Add the butter and sugar to a large mixing bowl. Cream together on high speed until light and fluffy, about 1 to 2 minutes.
- Sift in the flour and add the salt. Mix the flour in on low speed until all of the dry flour is incorporated and the mixture is coarse and crumbly.
- Dump the crumbs into the prepared pan. Use you hands to firmly press the crust into an even layer. Place the crust in the preheated oven and bake for 22 to 24 minutes, or until the edges are turning golden.
Make The Lemon Filling
- While the crust is in the oven, make the lemon filling. Wash and dry the lemon. Zest it into the same mixing bowl you used to make the crust.
- Add the lemon juice, sugar, and eggs to the bowl. Mix everything on medium-low speed until the eggs are well-mixed. Sift in the flour and add the salt. Mix on medium-low until smooth with no visible lumps of flour remaining.
- Remove the shortbread crust from the oven and place it on a wire rack. Pour the lemon filling over the crust, scraping any excess out of the bowl into the pan. Carefully return the lemon bars to the oven and bake for another 18 to 20 minutes. The bars are done when the filling is no longer wet or wobbly when the pan is nudged. Transfer the pan back to the cooling rack and cool the bars completely before slicing.
Notes
- For best flavor, use fresh squeezed lemon juice.
- If you’d rather make the bars without lemon zest, simply omit it from the recipe.
- For a cleaner slice, dip the knife in a glass of hot tap water and then dry it with a tea towel. Make a slice, then repeat, warming the knife and drying it, before slicing again.
- I cut lemon bars into 9 large squares to serve as dessert. If serving at a party or reception, slice them into smaller squares, or even slice the squares in half to make small triangles.
- To freeze—after slicing, lay the bars out, not touching, on a baking sheet or a couple of plates that fit in your freezer. Freeze the bars for 2 to 3 hours. Remove the bars from the freezer and double wrap them in parchment or waxed paper, or plastic wrap. Store the individually wrapped bars in a large container or zipper-top bag for up to one month. To serve, simply remove a bar and unwrap it, then thaw at room temperature.
I’ve never had lemon bars but these look delicious!
I don’t usually like any kind of squares or bars because they are too sweet for my taste, but of all, lemon bars have my preference. Theit tartness is such a great counterbalance to the buttery shortcrust.
I love lemon bars! They have been a part of my holiday baking repertoire for making years. Your recipe looks similar to the one I use and your photos are lovely!
The recipe does not explain how much flour goes into the shortbread crust vs. the filling. The ingredient list says “1 cup flour” but does not explain how that is divided between the crust and filling, which bot require “flour’ according to the instructions?