Meyer Lemon Bars

I’m giving away a copy of Carla Hall’s Cooking with Love – make sure you enter! (And did you see that Carla actually commented on that post?! Crazy!)

This is the first year I’ve gotten my hands on meyer lemons. The past couple years I’ve seen them at the store and said, “I’m gonna go right home, find a recipe, and then come back for these!” And then by the time I make it back to the store, they’re gone. The season is just so short! So this year I snatched a bag up as soon as I spotted them.

My husband loves lemon bars and even though he’s doing the Paleo thing, I knew he’d cheat for them. So obviously I made some. Because I live to sabotage his diet. You really can’t go wrong with lemon bars. Sweet and tart all at once with a shortbread crust. I mean, there’s nothing I don’t like about them. If you can find meyer lemons, I definitely suggest trying them out in bars. (I was at the store yesterday and saw them so I’m hoping you will still be able to find them too.)

One year ago: Superbowl Snacks
Three years ago: Italian Bread

Print

Meyer Lemon Bars

from Treats

Ingredients

For the crust:

• 1 1/4 cups flour
• 1/2 cup powdered sugar plus more to sprinkle on the finished bars
• pinch of salt
• 8 tablespoons unsalted butter cold and cut into 8 pieces

For the filling:

• 7 large egg yolks
• 2 large eggs
• 1 cup sugar
• 2/3 cup meyer lemon juice from about 4-5 medium lemons
• finely grated zest from the lemons
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 4 tablespoons unsalted butter cut in to 4 pieces
• 3 tablespoons heavy cream

Instructions

To make the crust:

1. Preheat oven to 350F. Line an 9x9-inch square pan with parchment or aluminum foil. Set aside.
2. Put the flour, powdered sugar and salt in a food processor and process briefly, about 2 seconds just to combine. Add the butter pieces and process until the mixture is pale yellow and resembles coarse meal. Sprinkle the mixture into the prepared cake pan and press firmly with your fingers into an even layer over the entire pan bottom.
3. Bake in a preheated oven until golden brown, about 20 - 23 minutes.

To make the filling:

1. In a medium saucepan whisk together the egg yolks and whole eggs until combined. Whisk in the sugar, meyer lemon juice, zest, and salt.
2. Add the butter pieces and cook over medium-low heat, stirring constantly with a wooden spoon, until the curd thickens to a thin sauce-like consistency (about 170 degrees on an instant-read thermometer), about 6 minutes.
3. Immediately pour the curd through a fine-mesh steel strainer set over a bowl. Stir in the heavy cream and pour the curd into the warm crust.
4. Bake until the filling is shiny and opaque and the center 3 inches jiggle slightly when shaken, about 10 minutes. Cool on a wire rack to room temperature. Remove the bars from the pan and cut into squares, wiping the knife blade clean between cuts as necessary. Sift powdered sugar over the bars.

Comments

comments