Classic Lemon Bars

This is the lemon bar of your childhood..tender, buttery, melt in your mouth crust, lemony bur sweet filling, and topped with a snowfall of powdered sugar.  I love them and if I were being nostalgic or feeding a room full of kids, this is the bar ncookie I would make.  But we all grow up, our taste change, we get a little bolder and crave a twist to childhood favorites.  Luckily I found a “grown-up” version, Alice Medrich’s Lemon Bars to bake.  A crisp, buttery crust and filling with enough lemon to make your tastebuds pucker up, so good.

There is absolutely no reason you can’t have both! If you’re feeling like a kid bake this version, if you’re feeling hipster-ish and sassy, bake Alice’s version, Lemon Bars with attitude.

When I am in a hurry I will make the crust for these bars in my food processor.  Put flour and powdered sugar in FP bowl.  Pulse to combine.  Add butter (if you use unsalted butter add a pinch of salt) and pulse until it looks like powdery, loose crumbs. It should not come together.  Pour the mixture into an 8×8 pan and press evenly.  Don’t worry, it won’t look like dough, but will bake into a tender lovely crust.

While the crust is baking, prepare the filling. I have used just lemons, a combination of lemons and limes (2/3:1/3), Meyer lemons and oranges. Experiment!

Imperative to pour the filling on a hot crust which helps set the filling.  The filling will keep baking after it comes out so a slight center jiggle is ok when you take it out of the oven.