These are my favorite lemon bars! Our recipe combines the most delicious shortbread crust with a creamy, tart lemon filling.
I’m not sure I can convey how much I love these incredible lemon bars. Let’s start with the crust. If you’ve had shortbread cookies before, our lemon bar crust will remind you of them. I love it so much that I’d be happy to eat the crust all by itself (it’s that good).
The lemon filling is delicious, too. I use fresh lemon juice and lemon zest to pack in as much lemony flavor as possible. These lemon bars are a must-make! I also love these lemon cheesecake bars!
Key Ingredients
- Butter: Since these lemon bars have a shortbread crust, I use melted butter to make them. Salted butter is perfect, but unsalted is fine. Just follow my tips for adding a bit of salt to our recipe below.
- Flour: All-purpose flour is perfect here or use your favorite gluten-free all-purpose flour blend.
- Sugar: I use granulated sugar for the crust and lemon topping.
- Lemons: I usually buy 5 lemons when shopping for this recipe to ensure I have enough juice. For these bars, you’ll use the zest of a lemon or two and the juice of 4 to 5 lemons.
- Eggs: These are the base of our lemon filling.
- Vanilla: I add a bit of vanilla to make the crust taste even more delicious. I highly recommend it!
How to Make Lemon Bars
Lemon bars are such a simple dessert! I start with the crust. We’re picky when it comes to crusts (homemade pie crust being a great example). You’ll start by rubbing lemon zest and vanilla into the sugar, making a more fragrant lemon sugar that makes an even more delicious crust.
Then, add melted butter. I use melted butter instead of softened butter for the best lemon bar crust. Melted butter is easier and it makes the crust more crisp, which is perfect against the creamy lemon filling.
You’ll bake the crust until golden brown before adding the filling, which you’ll add to the hot baked crust. The filling is simple to make. You’ll whisk sugar, flour, salt, lemon zest, eggs, and lemon juice together and then pour it in.
The bars bake a bit longer, and then they need to cool before cutting. Easy! By the way, I store them in the fridge (they last about 1 week!).
Easy Lemon Bars
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PREP
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COOK
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TOTAL
These easy lemon bars have the most delicious shortbread crust and a creamy, tart lemon topping. Making the crust with melted butter is much easier than softened butter, which is common in other recipes. Don’t skip chilling the crust before baking, it really helps keep the crust crisp and crunchy.
Makes 16 lemon bars
You Will Need
Shortbread Crust
12 tablespoons (170g) salted butter, melted and cooled
1/2 cup (100g) granulated sugar
1 teaspoon lemon zest
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 cups (260g) all-purpose flour, spooned and leveled
Lemon Topping
1 ½ cups (300g) granulated sugar
3 tablespoons (25g) all-purpose flour
1/4 teaspoon fine sea salt
2 teaspoons lemon zest
4 large eggs
3/4 cup (180ml) freshly squeezed lemon juice, from 4 to 5 lemons
2 tablespoons powdered sugar for sifting tops of bars
Directions
- Make Crust
1Line a straight-sided 13×9-inch metal baking pan with foil, leaving an overhang on two opposite sides. (This will help when removing the cooled bars from the pan.) Lightly coat the sides of the foil, but not the bottom, with non-stick cooking spray or extra melted butter to prevent the lemon topping from sticking.
2In a medium bowl, use a spatula to stir and press the sugar, salt, 1 teaspoon of lemon zest, and vanilla extract together until moist and fragrant. Stir in the flour and melted butter until a crumbly, stiff dough forms.
3Press the dough evenly into the bottom of the prepared baking pan (it may not look like enough dough at first, but it will cover the bottom nicely). Prick the dough with a fork all over to prevent air bubbles while baking.
4Freeze dough for 5 minutes or until firm (or refrigerate for 30 minutes).
5While the crust chills, position an oven rack near the center of the oven and preheat the oven to 325°F (162°C).
6Bake the shortbread crust until lightly golden brown and set, 25 to 30 minutes.
- Make Lemon Bars
1While the crust bakes, stir the sugar, flour, salt, and 2 teaspoons of lemon zest. Whisk in the eggs until smooth, then whisk in the lemon juice.
2Once the crust has baked, pour the lemon topping over the hot crust. Return the pan to the oven and increase the oven temperature to 350°F (177°C). Bake until the topping is set in the center and it no longer wiggles when the pan is moved, 20 to 25 minutes.
3Set the pan on a cooling rack and cool until the lemon bars are firm and the bottom of the pan is no longer warm, about 1 hour. (You can speed this up by placing the bars into the refrigerator once the pan is no longer hot).
4Once cooled, use the foil overhang to carefully lift the bars from the pan and place them on a cutting board. Peel away the foil, then cut the bars into 16 or 32 small bars. Sift the powdered sugar over the bars.
Adam and Joanne’s Tips
- Storing: Place the cooled and cut lemon bars in an airtight container lined with parchment paper. Refrigerate for up to one week. Freeze for up to 3 months.
- Butter: I use salted butter, but you can use unsalted. For unsalted butter, add 1/4 teaspoon fine sea salt to the crust.
- Measuring your flour: Fluff the flour in its container, then gently scoop it into your measuring cup until slightly mounded. Level off the top with a knife for accurate measuring. For even more accuracy, use a scale and measure the flour by weight (in grams).
- Crust recipe inspired by Fine Cooking’s shortbread crust.
- The nutrition facts provided below are estimates.
Nutrition Per Serving
Serving Size
1 bar
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Calories
260
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Protein
4g
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Carbohydrate
40g
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Dietary Fiber
1g
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Total Sugars
25g
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Total Fat
10g
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Saturated Fat
6g
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Cholesterol
69mg
We’re Adam and Joanne, a couple passionate about cooking and sharing delicious, reliable recipes since 2009. Our goal? To inspire you to get in the kitchen and confidently cook fresh and flavorful meals.More About Us
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