Tart lemon custard & subtly sweet shortbread make these bright and tasty Lemon Bars the perfect summer treat! These highly portable dessert bars can be cut to any size you need, and are great for all your picnics in the park, outdoor barbecues, and pool parties all season long.

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Lemon Bars

My newfound obsession with all things lemon is intense and these Lemon Bars fulfill all of those citrus cravings!

All my life, I’ve been an orange girl. Oranges are not bitter or tart – they’re nice and sweet and just mouth-puckering enough to satisfy my taste buds.

When I starting dating my husband, he introduced me to the world of limes, and for a while, it was all about them.

He uses lime a lot in his cooking, plus I went through a short-yet-eye-opening stint where I was hooked on fresh agave margaritas.

Needless to say, our house is never without limes.

Lemons, however, those are new to our countertop fruit basket.

It all started last month when I found out the hard way that I have a peptic ulcer. Booooo.

Having to cut back on my coffee intake forced me to drink tea for the small amount of caffeine it offers.

I’m not one of those people that need caffeine to function properly, but I think it’s more of the ritual of drinking the coffee than anything that motivates me.

My favorite part of the day is waking up to let my dog out and firing up my coffee machine.

Those first few sips are heaven. Just thinking about it makes me want a cup right now.

A cup of coffee and a few of these lemon bars, actually.

Not being able to have my morning cup o’ joe made me try hot tea, which I’ve never really cared for.

We have it in the house for visitors and the rare occasion one of us gets a cold or the flu, but otherwise it just kind of sits in the cupboard.

To jazz it up, I started adding a bit of lemon – with the hopes that it wouldn’t flare up the ulcer.

Luckily, no flare-ups – the only side effect was a new love of hot tea! And of course, lemon.

I guess this means I could now easily survive living in the UK. Bonus!

How to Make Lemon Bars:

Like many lemon bar recipes, this one requires two bakes but is otherwise very simple!

Shortbread Crust

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Line a 13×9 baking pan with a sheet of parchment, then grease well. Set aside.
With a hand mixer or in a stand mixer, cream the butter for 2-3 minutes until pale and fluffy. Add the sugar and flour and mix well.
Transfer the dough to the prepared baking pan. Spread it into an even layer with your fingers. Chill for 15 minutes, then bake in preheated oven for 15-20 minutes until just barely golden brown. Cool.

Lemon Custard

In a large bowl, whisk together all ingredients until well incorporated. Pour the mixture over the cooled crust.
Bake for 25-30 minutes at 350 degrees F until the custard is set. Remove from the oven and let cool. Dust with powdered sugar as desired and serve. You may also chill the bars and serve them cold.

These lemon bars are absolutely scrumptious.

The lemon custard is very tart, but not in a bad way.

You can easily adjust the sugar to lemon juice ratio in the recipe if you prefer a sweet lemon bar, but my husband and I devoured them.

As for the shortbread base, it’s supremely buttery – it smells so good, you might be tempted to sneak a taste after pre-baking the crust!

If you like an equal cookie-to-custard ratio, double the shortbread recipe and bake it a bit longer until it’s a nice golden brown.

Over-baking isn’t a terrible fate with these since the custard softens the base during the second bake.

More Tasty Lemon Recipes:

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Lemon Bars

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5 from 7 votes (4 ratings without comment)

Lemon Bars