Home » Recipes » Dessert » Lemon Bars
by Joanne March 5, 2019 (updated March 11, 2021)
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These Lemon Bars have a bright and tangy lemon curd filling on top of a buttery shortbread crust, finished with a dusting of confectioner’s sugar.It’s a classic for a reason!
Bold, tart flavor. Silky, luscious texture. Soft, buttery shortbread.
There are so many ways that lemon bars get it right as one of my favorite desserts ever.
I first posted this recipe in 2013, after my brother Stephen asked me to share my best lemon bar recipe. That version was delicious, but since then, I’ve come to adjust and refine the recipe further.
And I think this revamped version may be here to stay indefinitely.
Here’s what I love about this recipe:
- The ratio of crust to filling is perfect to me. The crust is intentionally quite thin, just enough to hold up the lemon curd and give a texture contrast. It’s about half as thick as the previous version.
- The lemon curd retains a silky smooth texture while being less sweet than the original. It’s far from cloying, and has just the right balance of sweet and tart.
- It’s easy. I’ve never been the type to love the really complicated, involved desserts, and this is one that everyone can pull off.
How to Make Lemon Bars:
To start, make the shortbread crust.
Cream together unsalted butter and sugar until it’s spread around the bowl, then add flour, fresh lemon zest, and salt:
Mix for a minute or so, until it comes together into a crumbly dough:
Press the shortbread firmly and evenly into the bottom of an 8×11 dish:
Bake the crust for 25-30 minutes, until golden brown. And in the meantime we’ll make the lemon curd filling.
In a bowl, combine 5 eggs with granulated sugar:
Whisk together until well blended, then add fresh lemon juice and flour:
Whisk to combine, then pour the filling over the baked shortbread crust:
Bake for 25-30 minutes, until set, but still jiggly in the middle.
Let the lemon bars cool completely before slicing.
Even better is to refrigerate them, so you get cleaner lines (and any leftovers will need to be refrigerated as well, FYI).
Dust the top with confectioner’s sugar before serving. Enjoy!
How to Store Lemon Bars: These should be stored in the refrigerator, for up to 5 days.
How to Freeze Lemon Bars: Fully bake and cool the bars, then store in an airtight container for up to 1 month.
How to Cut Lemon Bars: These are easiest to cut after they are fully chilled in the refrigerator. Run the knife under hot water first, then dry with a towel, and cut.
More Favorite Desserts:
- Peanut Butter Pie
- Baklava
- Bread Pudding
- Chocolate Cupcake Recipe
Lemon Bars
Servings: 12 (yields one 8x11 pan)
Prep Time: 15 minutes mins
Cook Time: 1 hour hr 10 minutes mins
Total Time: 1 hour hr 25 minutes mins
These Lemon Bars have a bright and tangy lemon curd filling on a buttery shortbread crust.
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Ingredients
For the Crust:
- 1/2 cup unsalted butter softened
- 1/4 cup sugar
- zest of 1 lemon
- 5 oz all-purpose flour, by weight (1 cup, if measuring)
- 1/8 tsp sea salt
For the Lemon Curd:
- 5 large eggs
- 1.5 cups sugar
- 3/4 cup lemon juice (freshly squeezed)
- 2.5 oz all-purpose flour, by weight (1/2 cup, if measuring)
Instructions
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.
To make the crust, in a large bowl using a hand mixer, cream together the butter and sugar for about 20 seconds, until it has spread around the bowl.
Add the lemon zest, flour, and salt, and mix until combined into a moist, crumbly dough. If you pinch a few crumbles together, they should hold together well.
Evenly press the dough into an 8×11 pan and bake for 25-30 minutes, until the shortbread is a light golden brown. Then, let the crust cool at room temperature until no longer hot to the touch, about 10 minutes.
To make the lemon curd filling, in a large bowl, whisk together the eggs and sugar until smooth, about 30 seconds.
Add the lemon juice and flour, and whisk until smooth.
Pour this mixture over the fully baked shortbread and bake for about 25-30 minutes, until the curd has set but still jiggles a little bit in the middle when you shake the pan.
Let the lemon bars cool at room temperature for at least 2 hours before serving, and for cleaner slices, refrigerate the bars until chilled.
When ready to serve, cut into squares and dust with confectioner's sugar, if desired. Enjoy!
Nutrition
Calories: 282kcal, Carbohydrates: 43g, Protein: 4g, Fat: 10g, Saturated Fat: 5g, Cholesterol: 108mg, Sodium: 59mg, Potassium: 67mg, Sugar: 29g, Vitamin A: 365IU, Vitamin C: 5.9mg, Calcium: 19mg, Iron: 1.2mg
Nutrition is estimated using a food database and is only intended to be used as a guideline for informational purposes.
Course: Dessert
Cuisine: American
Author: Fifteen Spatulas
Post updated in March 2019 with adjusted recipe, new photos, and new writing. Originally published June 2013.
posted in: All Recent Posts, Dessert 40 comments
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Ana Carrasco — Reply
Tastes amazing, but why did the crust go onto the top?
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Joanne Ozug — Reply
Do you have a picture? This sounds very odd.
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mary — Reply
Hi will i be able to make these using gluten free flour
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Kelly Senyei | Just a Taste — Reply
These look fantastic! I’m a huge fan of lemon desserts and will be making these for a friend’s birthday 🙂 Thanks for sharing!
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Joanne Ozug — Reply
Sounds great Kelly, hope they are a hit!
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Ptholome — Reply
Hello Joanne, I always like your recipes and I have one doubt about this one. In the point two you write: “add the granulated sugar and cream the two together”. What cream? There isn’t cream in your recipe… I have made it without cream and I don’t think it is going to change something in the taste of this “gateau”
Thanks for your passion to show us your work.-
Joanne Ozug — Reply
Hi Ptholome, the cream I’m referring to is the verb (not the noun). Creaming butter and sugar together is a term where you mix the two, where the purpose is for the sugar to cut tiny holes into the butter. There is no cream in this recipe. Hope that clears it up!
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Myrtle — Reply
Wow, Joanne, these look GOOD. My go-to, never-fails lemon bar recipe is the one from Cook’s Illustrated, I believe, and they are simply perfection in a bite. But, seeing your pictures, I think I’ll have to try these out. They look like they’ll give my lemon bars a run for their money. 😉
Family recipes…hmm. If there’s one thing that’s quintessentially my family’s recipe, it’d be our recipe for disappearing brownies. I cannot divulge the secrets of these sticky, chewy, probably thousand-calorie brownies to you. If I did, my family would disown me.
So not joking.
Okay, maybe a little. But this is serious business here that I’m talking ’bout. 😉
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Joanne Ozug — Reply
Put me against a Cook’s Illustrated recipe? That sounds scary! LOL. And these disappearing brownies sound pretty awesome…sweetened condensed milk? That falls under the thousand calorie, sticky, chewy category.
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Georgia — Reply
Oh my lordy, these are luscious lemon bars, Joanne! So beautiful and summery, and perfect for parties… or for not sharing at all! Great recipe.
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Char James-Tanny — Reply
I made these for my husband for Father’s Day yesterday…they were awesome 🙂 (I think my son and husband have already eaten about half the pan!)
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Joanne Ozug — Reply
Hi Char, that’s so great!!! I’m glad you and your family enjoyed the lemon bars!!!
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Bam's Kitchen — Reply
Lemony desserts are my all time favourite. I am sure Stephen is one happy camper if you sent some of your lemon bars to California. I might just sprinkle mine with a bit of powdered sugar and call it a day. Heavenly.
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Nessa — Reply
Lemon desserts are the best!
