These sweet homemade lemon bars are full of tart lemon flavor and are made with a sweet shortbread crust. They are always a crowd-pleaser and great for parties or holidays!
This is one of my favorite desserts ever – homemade lemon bars.
So. Much. Goodness.
They are sweet and sour and pretty easy to throw together. Trust me, even if you think they look hard, they aren’t.
Make a simple crust in your mixer, bake it, top it with a lemon mixture, bake some more, cool, dust with powdered sugar, and devour!
I like making these bar cookies for holidays and parties; they are always a hit!
Table of Contents
Ingredients for lemon bars
For crust:
- Unsalted Butter – I like to use unsalted butter because salted butter can differ from brand to brand.
- Powdered sugar – This helps sweeten the crust.
- All-purpose flour – The base of the crust.
- Kosher salt – Just a pinch to bring out the flavor of the crust and butter.
For lemon filling:
- Granulated sugar – Lemon bars are sweet, and this helps sweeten the bars and balance out the tart lemon juice and zest.
- Eggs – Helps thicken the bars so they set up as they bake.
- Lemon juice – Use fresh lemons because you’ll get the best flavor.
- Lemon zest – Brings in freshness and added lemon flavor.
- All-purpose flour – Helps thicken the bars.
How to make lemon bars
This is one of those recipes that might look intimidating but are easy to throw together! It all starts with making a crust, then topping it with filling, baking, dusting with powdered sugar, and devouring!
- Make the crust by combining butter and powdered sugar in a mixing bowl and mix until fluffy.
- Add flour and kosher salt to the butter mixture and mix until the dough comes together and can easily be pressed into a pan.
- Bake the crust while you make your lemon filling.
- Mix granulated sugar, lemon juice, lemon zest, eggs, and flour in a mixing bowl.
- Pour into the half-cooked crust and bake until set.
- Let them cool, slice, and top with powdered sugar.
Using different citrus
I love using straight-up traditional lemons for lemon bars, but Meyer lemons would work well here, too. They tend to be sweeter, so keep that in mind.
You could substitute with fresh orange, grapefruit, lime, or blood orange juice.
All of these citrus fruits make an excellent cookie bar!
How to tell if lemon bars are fully cooked
The trick to lemon bars is to cook the filling enough to set but not so much as the filling curdles.
While this might sound complicated, it’s pretty easy. You want to cook your lemon bars until the center is set, and do not jiggle when gently shaking the pan.
Tips for making lemon bars
- Don’t use foil to line your pan – if you use foil to line your pan, you may end up with metallic-tasting lemon bars. The acid in the lemon juice can react with the aluminum in the foil.
- Use fresh lemons – if you want the best-flavored lemon bars, then make sure to use fresh lemons for the juice and the zest.
- Use parchment paper – line your pan with parchment paper for easy removal from the pan after cooling.
- FULLY cool – you must let your bars fully cool, or they will not be set up or cut correctly.
Adding additional flavor
Craving a little more flavor?
You can add vanilla bean extract to the crust or filling. Or why not go for a deep vanilla flavor and use vanilla bean paste?
Storage and leftovers
You can store any leftover lemon bars, covered, in the fridge for up to 5 days.
You can also freeze lemon bars! Simply wrap in plastic wrap or store in a freezer-safe zip-top baggie for up to three months.
More lemon desserts
- Lemon Curd Cupcakes
- Blueberry Lemon Pound Cake
- Vanilla Bean Lemon Sugar Cookies
- Vanilla Lemon Pound Cake
Homemade Lemon Bars
Equipment
Ingredients
For crust:
- 4 ounces unsalted butter room temperature
- 1/4 cup powdered sugar
- 1 cup all purpose flour
- 1/4 teaspoon kosher salt
For lemon filling:
- 1 cup granulated sugar
- 2 large eggs
- 1/3 cup fresh lemon juice
- 2 tablespoons grated lemon zest
- 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
Instructions
For crust:
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees F and line an 8×8 pan with parchment paper.
- In a bowl of an electric mixer add butter and powdered sugar. Beat together until the mixture is pale in color and fluffy, about 3 minutes.
- Add 1 cup all purpose flour and kosher salt and mix just until the dough comes together. This may take a few minutes. The mixture will look crumbly at first but will come together. It’s ready when the dough can easily be pressed together.
- Firmly press the dough into the bottom of your prepared pan. Make sure to keep the dough the same thickness throughout the pan.
- Bake for about 20 minutes, or until lightly browned. Remove from oven and cool while you make the filling.
For lemon filling:
- In an electric mixer bowl add sugar and eggs and beat till smooth, about 2 minutes.
- Add the lemon juice and zest and stir to combine.
- Fold in the flour.
For baking:
- Pour the filling over the shortbread crust and bake for about 20 minutes, or until the filling is set. Remove from the oven and cool.
- Cut into squares and dust with powdered sugar. These are best eaten the day they are made but can be covered and stored in the refrigerator for up to two days.