Lemon Bars

You will love these bright and zingy lemon bars with a crisp shortbread crust and luscious lemon filing. Beyond easy to make and oh so delicious!

Lemon bars are one of the easiest desserts to make but they are guaranteed to bring a smile to your face. I love the soft lemon filing paired with a crisp shortbread crust and the flavour is beyond delicious; so bright and zingy with all the lemon flavour from the juice, they are simply irresistible !!

You only need 7 ingredients to make these lemon bars. Always bake lemon bars at a lower temperature to avoid over-baking. They are simply the best lemon bars and are perfect for picnics, bake sales, spring brunches, baby showers and bridal showers.

Ingredients:

Shortbread crust:

• 230g unsalted butter, melted
• 100g granulated sugar
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• ½ tsp salt
• 265g plain flour

Lemon Filing:

• 400g granulated sugar
• 48g plain flour
• 6 large eggs
• 1 cup lemon juice
• icing sugar, for dusting

Method:

Preheat the oven to 160ºC for fan assist oven. Line the bottom and sides of a 9x13 baking pan with baking paper, leaving an overhang on the sides to lift the finished bars out. Set aside.

To make the crust: Mix the melted butter, sugar, vanilla extract and salt together in a medium bowl. Add the flour and stir to completely combine. The dough will be thick. Press firmly into the prepared pan, making sure the layer of crust is nice and even. Bake for 20- 22 minutes or until the edges are lightly browned. Remove from the oven. Using a fork, poke holes all over the top of the warm crust, not all the way through the crust. This helps the filing stick and holds the crust in place. Set aside.

Making the filing: Sift the sugar and flour in a large bowl. Add the eggs and lemon juice  and whisk until completely combined.

Pour filing over the warm crust. Bake the bars for 22 to 25 minutes or until the centre is relatively set and no longer jiggles. Remove bars from the oven and cool completely at room temperature. Then stick in the refrigerator for 2 hours until pretty chilled. 

Once cool, lift the baking paper out of the pan using the overhang on the sides. Dust with icing sugar and cut into squares before serving. For neat squares, wipe the knife clean between each cut. Cover and store leftover lemon bars in the refrigerator for up to 1 week.

Lemon bars can be frozen for up to 3-4 months. Cut the cooled bars without the icing sugar topping into squares, then place onto a baking sheet. Freeze for 1 hour. Individually wrap each bar in aluminium foil or plastic wrap and place into a large bag or freezer container to freeze. Thaw in the refrigerator, then dust with icing sugar before serving.