These classic lemon bars are absolutely the BEST, made with just 9 simple ingredients, and baked in under an hour. A buttery shortbread crust holds a thickened lemon curd filling with the perfect amount of sweet and tangy lemon flavor.
I’ve been perfecting this lemon bars recipe for you over the last few weeks, and I have to say, I have not gotten tired of taste-testing them!
Lemon bars are one of my favorite desserts – they’re sweet but with the tangy, sour flavor of lemons keeping them from being too sweet.
Lemon bars are the perfect ending to any meal, and while I particularly love making them in the spring and summer (think Easter, Mother’s Day, wedding showers, and barbecues), they’re welcome all year long.
Do you love lemon desserts as much as I do? My Lemon Cake Mix Cookies are about as easy as they can get! You should also try these lemon blueberry drop cookies; they’re like taking a bite of summertime.
Join our Facebook Cookie Group! It’s a community of people who LOVE baking cookies! Join us to find new recipes, share recipes, or to ask cookie questions! 💕
Why You Will Love This Lemon Bar Recipe
- Luscious Lemon Filling: The lemon curd filling in these bars is so, so perfect. It’s thick, creamy, and sturdy but still soft and jammy. Aside from this luscious texture, this lemon filling is sweet and tart and has the perfect amount of “zing” from fresh lemon juice and zest.
- Crisp Crust: The key to getting lemon bars with a crispy crust is to bake it first. This way, it has time to get crispy before we add liquid to it. If you skip this pre-baking step, you will definitely end up with soggy lemon bars, and nobody wants that!
- An Easy Dessert Bar: This recipe is very easy to make with just a few kitchen staples, some fresh lemons, and about an hour of your time (most of which is hands-off baking time).
Key Ingredients
Complete list of ingredients with quantities and instructions is located in the recipe card below
- Shortbread Crust: A firm, sturdy crust is key to great lemon bars. This recipe uses a simple shortbread crust made from flour, butter, vanilla extract, granulated sugar, and powdered sugar.
- Lemon Juice: Resist any urge you might have to use bottled lemon juice here – freshly squeezed is the only way to go!
- Lemon Zest: Before you juice those lemons, use a microplane grater to remove just the outer yellow layer of the peel. The zest has all of the lemon oil in it and will make your lemon bars taste amazing.
- Eggs: To make this pan of lemon bars, you’ll need 8 whole eggs. It seems like a lot, but I promise that this is the perfect amount to make this custardy, jammy lemon filling. The eggs keep the filling set solid enough to cut the bars into clean slices.
How To Make The Best Lemon Bars from Scratch
Get ready to bake by preheating the oven to 350°F (180°C). Line a 9×13-inch (approx 22×23 cm) baking pan with parchment paper and set aside.
- Mix the Dry Ingredients for the Crust: In a large bowl, stir together the flour, powdered sugar, granulated sugar, and salt.
- Add the Melted Butter: Pour in the melted butter and the vanilla extract and stir until the dough comes together but is still a bit crumbly.
- Press and Bake: Transfer the mixture to the prepared baking pan, then pat down into an even layer with your fingers. Bake the lemon bar crust in the preheated oven for 15-18 minutes or until lightly golden.
- Start the Filling: In a large bowl, whisk together the sugar, flour, lemon zest, and salt.
- Add the Eggs: Add the eggs, lemon juice, and vanilla and whisk until smooth. You can use an electric mixer to help.
- Bake: Pour the filling onto the warm crust, then return to the oven and bake for an additional 25-30 minutes, or until the filling is completely set and wobbles only slightly.
- Cool and Slice: Remove the baked lemon bars from the oven, allow them to cool, and then transfer the whole pan to the fridge to chill for 3 hours. Once completely chilled, remove them from the baking dish, slice them into squares, and dust with powdered sugar.
Top Baking Tips
- Press the crust down. To get a firm, crispy crust, you want to use your fingers to really press those buttery crumbs down into the pan. Make the crust as even as you can as well so that you don’t have some bars with really thick crusts and some with very thin crusts.
- Use room temperature eggs. Cold eggs are much more difficult to whisk into the other ingredients. Let the eggs sit out for an hour or so before you start to make the lemon curd filling for the bars.
- Lightly dust with powdered sugar. The easiest way to do this is to use a fine mesh sieve. Fill it with some powdered sugar and then gently tap it over the bars once they’ve cooled.
How to Store Lemon Bars
Once baked, keep these easy lemon bars in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 5 days.
You can also freeze these bars for up to 3 months. I enjoy them straight from the freezer sometimes, but you might prefer to let them thaw overnight in the fridge before digging in.
Other Fun and Easy Bar Desserts to Make
Recipe FAQs
Why do my lemon bars have brown spots on top?
Sometimes, there may be some air bubbles in your lemon curd. While the bars bake, those bubbles will rise to the top and cause thin spots that will brown more quickly than the rest of the bars. These are harmless.
Cover the bars with a dusting of powdered sugar, and nobody will notice or care!
Can I make lime bars with this recipe?
Absolutely! Replacing the lemon juice and lemon zest with lime juice and zest will give this recipe a completely different but delicious flavor! You might enjoy using half lemon and half lime to make lemon-lime bars, too.
You’re going to have so much fun making these zesty, sweet, and tangy lemon bars! Make sure to Pin the recipe for the next time you’re in need of an amazing treat to take to a party or share with your family
Leave a Review!