Luscious Lemon Bars

 

 

 

 

So I love sweet.  I love easy. I like recipes I don’t have to run to the store to get a single ingredient for.  Life handed me lemons. (I actually bought them) I made Luscious Lemon Bars.

I didn’t buy lemons for this recipe.  I bought lemons just to have in the house.  I love having tea with lemon, water with lemon, chicken with lemon, lemon with lemon……  I love the smell of lemon dish detergent and lemon perfume (not the same thing).  So I was wandering around the house and realized it is the January and summer is a long way off.  I need sunshine!  Lemons are like sunshine!  Lemon bars are like eating sunshine!

I just happened to find a wonderful lemon bar recipe in my newest cookbook, “The Smitten Kitchen”.  You will remember it from my last post.  I love this cookbook!  I love Deb Perelman’s blog the smitten kitchen.com.  Please check it out!  The great thing about this recipe, is it uses the entire lemon!  Yep, the skin, the pith (the white stuff around the lemon) the membranes, everything but the seeds.  You just slice the lemon up, pick the seeds out, and whiz the entire thing in the food processor.  Oh, and that is another great thing!  The entire recipe is made in the bowl of a food processor! The crust and the curd!  Please give this recipe a try if you enjoy easy and sunshine!

 

Luscious Lemon Bars

 

Crust

1 cup all-purpose flour

1/3 cup sugar

1/4 teaspoon salt

8 tablespoons butter, cut into chunks

Baking Spray for pan

 

Curd

1 small-to-medium-sized lemon

1 1/2 cups sugar

8 tablespoons butter, cut into chunks

4 large eggs

2 tablespoons cornstarch

1/4 teaspoon table salt

 

1.  Make sure your oven rack is in the center.  Preheat your oven to 350 degrees.  If you have parchment paper, cut 2 long rectangles 12” long and place perpendicular to each other in a 8x8” pan.  If you don’t have parchment, just make sure your heavily spray your pan.  Butter the pan if you have any exposed areas.  I used the pan spray and parchment paper just for added insurance.

2.  Blend the flour, sugar and salt together in the work bowl of a food processor.  Add the butter and pulse until the mixture is powdery but if you pinch some together it should hold. 

3.  Press the dough into the prepared baking dish, evenly on the bottom and 1/2-inch up the side.  Prick the dough with a fork to prevent bubbling.  If a bubble happens, just pop it.

4.  Bake in the oven until lightly browned. About 20 minutes.

5.  Make the curd.

6.  Slice the lemon into thin rounds and pick out the seeds.  Try not to lose any juice and throw the lemon into the bowl of the food processor.

7.  Add the sugar and run the machine for about 2 minutes or until the lemon is thoroughly pureed. 

8.  Add the butter and run the machine until the mixture is smooth.  Scrape down the sides of the bowl if necessary. 

9.  Add eggs, cornstarch and salt and pulse the machine in short bursts until the mixture is evenly combined.

10.  Pour the lemon curd onto the crust and bake for 35-40 minutes.  The filling should be set and have a little wiggle in the center when the pan is bumped.  Color is also a good indicator.  The lemon bars should be lightly browned. 

11.  Cool the lemon bars completely on the counter or in the refrigerator before slicing.  Gently run your knife around the edge of the pan to ensure nothing has stuck. 

12.  Slice into 16 squares and lightly dust with powdered sugar.

Enjoy your slice of sunshine!