Zesty Lemon Bars

A rough week calls for strong medicine

Issue 51: From Sara Kate

(Photo: Aubrie Pick)

As a cookbook author, I can say one of my biggest professional thrills is that first time I open the hard copy of a book I wrote. There’s usually a sweet handwritten note from my editor, the spine cracks, that new book smell wafts out, and there, in all its paper-bound glory, is a year or more’s worth of work in full color. The book Dana and I wrote, Dynamite Kids Cooking School, was my fourth time experiencing this excitement, and I can say it’s just as potent as the first. One thing I really appreciated this time was the choices our art team made, especially the choice to open the book with a photo from our beloved photographer Aubrie Pick of my lemon bar recipe. 

It reminded me of how comforting these treats are and what a punch they pack. My daughter and I both started school this week and I can say it was a bit bumpy, and some strong medicine is in order. We’ll be making these for ourselves this weekend, for sure.

Who invented the lemon bar, anyway? A butter-rich shortbread cookie (to which we add extra lemon zest) with egg-yolk-enriched lemon curd on top? Genius! Lemon bars can be cloyingly sweet, so we set out to create a recipe that didn’t feel like a tooth destroyer. We can’t stress enough what a difference it makes to use pulpy freshly squeezed lemon juice rather than the store-bought kind in a squeeze bottle. That tangy citrus flavor will shine through without the acrid bitterness you sometimes get from bottled lemon juice. 

Can you make these with other citrus? You bet! Lime will be strong, so to get your 1/2 cup juice, do about half lime juice and half water. For orange bars we recommend decreasing the sugar in the curd to 3/4 cup and increasing the zest to 3 tablespoons.

Zesty Lemon Bars
Makes 9

FOR THE CRUST
1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour(or a gluten-free substitute, such as Bob’s Red Mill 1:1)
1/2 cup powdered sugar
1/2 teaspoon freshly grated lemon zest
1/4 teaspoon salt
10 tablespoons (1 stick plus 2 tablespoons) butter, chilled and cut into ½-inch cubes, plus more for greasing
Ice water, as needed

FOR THE LEMON CURD
4 large eggs
1 cup granulated sugar
2 tablespoons freshly grated lemon zest
½ cup freshly squeezed lemon juice
¼ cup all-purpose flour (or a gluten-free substitute, such as Bob’s Red Mill 1:1)
3 tablespoons powdered sugar, for serving

1. Position a rack in the center of the oven and preheat the oven to 325°F. Line a 9 × 9-inch baking dish with parchment paper, leaving about 1 inch hanging over two sides. Grease the exposed sides of the pan.

2. Make the crust: In a medium mixing bowl, combine the flour, powdered sugar, lemon zest, and salt. Add the chilled butter and, using a pastry cutter or two table knives to slice through the butter or working quickly with your fingers, mix the butter into the flour mixture until it resembles a coarse meal. You may need to add a tablespoon or two of ice water to help the dough come together. 

3. Transfer the mixture to the prepared pan, scattering it in evenly, and use the flat bottom of a drinking glass to press the mixture evenly over the bottom all the way to the edges. Bake for 30 minutes, until golden. Remove the pan from the oven and set on a wire rack to cool slightly (keep the oven on). 

4. Make the lemon curd: While the crust is baking, in a medium bowl, whisk together the eggs and granulated sugar until well combined and you see the color turn pale, which will take a few minutes. Stir in the lemon zest, lemon juice, and the flour until just combined. Pour the lemon curd over the warm crust. Return the pan to the oven and bake for 30 minutes, or until the center doesn’t jiggle when you tap the pan.

5. Remove the pan from the oven and set it on a wire rack to cool completely, about an hour, then chill the lemon bars in the refrigerator for at least another hour. Remove the lemon bars by first running a sharp paring knife along the edges of the pan without parchment, then grasping the overhanging edges of the parchment and lifting the bars out of the pan. Cut into nine 3-inch square bars, or as desired.

6. To serve, place the powdered sugar in a fine-mesh strainer and dust the top of the bars. The bars will keep, covered, in the refrigerator for up to 3 days. To freeze the bars, wrap the completely cooled bars individually with plastic wrap and freeze. Thaw in the refrigerator, then dust with powdered sugar before serving.