Yummy Little Lemon Bars Recipe

On my off days from pastry class I tutor high school kids in math.  One of my students loves cookies so every time I go to tutor her I bring her a new cookie.  I was happy to hear this week that she shared my taste for lemon! There were a couple of lemon recipes I've wanted to try so I was thrilled.  I decided to go with Karen Demasco's recipe from her cookbook "The Craft of Baking" for Little Lemon Bars.  

It's a really simple recipe but the outcome is dee-lic-ious.  The crust is buttery and crisp and the filling is a perfectly tart custard that is reminiscent of a lemon meringue tart. Although the citrus punch of these little bars is not too bitter, the tartiness of the lemon can be too much for some people but as a huge lemon lover I ate a few of these up right after cutting them (how can you not?).  

My student's eyes lit up when she saw these bars and ate four in one sitting! I held myself back from finishing the last two and let her have the rest for later.  Be careful they're addicting.

Lemon fans enjoy!

Little Lemon Bars

Crust:

• 12 tablespoons (1 1/2 sticks) chilledunsalted butter, cut into small pieces, plus more for the pan
• 1/4 cup plus 2 tablespoon confectioner's sugar
• 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
• 1 1/2 cups unbleached all-purpose flour, plus more for rolling

Filling:

• 4 large eggs
• 2 cups granulated sugar
• Finely grated zest of 2 lemons
• 1/3 cup fresh lemon juice (about 3 lemons), strained
• 1/2 cup unbleached all-purpose flour, plus more for rolling
• 3/4 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/4 teaspoon kosher salt

To Prepare the Crust:

1. In a stand mixer with the paddle attachment, beat the butter, confectioners' sugar, and salt until light and fluffy and no chunks are visible (about 3 minute).  I like to beat the butter by itself a bit first before I add the sugar and the salt.  
2. Add half of the flour and mix just until combined; then add the rest of the flour and repeat.  
3. Form the dough into a 5 x 5 in. square, wrap in plastic wrap, and chill for at least one hour (or overnight).  It's really important that the dough is properly chilled, it makes it much easier to roll it out.
4. Pre-heat the over to 350 degrees.  Line the bottom of an 8-in square pan with parchment and grease it with butter.
5. On a lightly floured surface, roll the chilled dough into a 10-inch square, about 1/8 in. thick.  To transfer it to the pan roll it up on the rolling pin and gently unroll it onto the pan.  Then fit the dough into the corners and sides of pan (the dough should come up about 1 inch on all sides of the pan).  Chill the pan in the freezer for 10 minutes (or well-wrapped for up to a month).  **It is very important to work quickly when rolling the dough, the colder it is the easier it is going to be to transfer the dough to the pan.  Also, this dough can be forgiving, so if it breaks a bit take the scraps and press it gently into the broken parts of the dough to patch it up.
6. Remove the crust from the freezer and bake for 30 minutes, rotating the pan front to back and top to bottom halfway through.

To Prepare the Filling:

1. While the crust is baking, in a large bowl, whisk together the eggs, sugar, lemon zest, and lemon juice.
2. In another bowl, sift together the flour, baking powder, and salt.
3. Whisk the flour mixture into the egg mixture just to combine.
4. Remove the crust from the over and pour the filling into it.  
5. Return the pan to the over and bake for 40 minutes, rotating halfway through, until the filling is golden brown on top and it is firm to the touch.  **Testing the firmness is a great way to check if it is done, under-baking will result in a runny filling and ruin the bars!
6. When done baking, remove from the oven and let cool completely before cutting into 1 x 2 inch bars.  However, you can make them as big or small as you want!

These bars can be stored in an airtight container at room temp. for up to 3 days.