Lemon Bars
My daughter loves cooking with me, and let’s just say the feeling is mutual, as I really love cooking with her. She has this amazing energy and drive that when she proposes that we cook together, or bake in her case, I simply cannot refuse. One evening she came over by me, sat in my lap, and had a pen and pad of paper in her hand. I new she was up to something. Â As I asked what she was up to, she simply came back and said ‘I am making a list of things that I want you to teach me how to cook’. It almost brought a tear to my eye. I simply loved it. She rattled off things like fruit salad, strawberry cheesecake, bananas foster, and lemon bars, among other things. Â I was not going to say no to teaching her how to make any of these, granted I am not the best at making desserts, but I do have enough knowledge and skill to get by.
As my daughter got off of the bus one afternoon, I decided to surprise her and immediately take action on one of her list items, the lemon bars. She took notice right away with some lemons I had on the counter and with her curiosity asked what were the lemons were for, and I said ‘lemon bars, silly!’. She was excited to say the least.
These lemon bars are too easy to make and yielded happiness and joy to my entire family.
Let’s get started.
Ingredients for the Graham Cracker Crust:
- 1 cup graham cracker crumbs, packed
- 3 tbsp unsalted butter, melted
- 1 tbsp sugar
Ingredients for the Lemon Bars:
- 3 whole eggs
- 1/3 cup fresh lemon juice
- 1 lemon, zest only
- 1 cup granulated sugar
- 1 tsp baking powder
- pinch of salt
- powdered sugar
Start by preheating your oven to 350 degrees.
In a small mixing bowl add the graham cracker crumbs, sugar, and melted butter. Mix to ensure the butter gets all through the graham crackers.
Add the buttered graham crackers into a 9 inch baking pan. Pack the crust down onto the pan.
Place in the preheated oven and bake for about 8 minutes. Once baked, remove the crust from the oven and let cool.
Next, lets make the lemon filling.
I use my KitchenAid on this process, but you can use a hand mixer if you do not have one.
Add the eggs and sugar to the mixing bowl  and mix on high speed for about 5 minutes. You want the mixture to increase in size. Once increased, reduce the speed and add in the salt, baking powder, and lemon zest. Then toss in the lemon juice. Scrape down the sides of the mixer, then give a final mix.
Pour the mixture on top of the crust, and place back in the 350 degree oven for about 25 minutes. Remove the pan from the oven and let cool. Once cooled, place in the refrigerator to let the lemon curd form. My picture was before the cooling process as my daughter was super excited and could not resist any longer. Our curd did not raise as much as we wanted, but neither one of us was overly concerned.
Once cooled, shower the top with powdered sugar to add a light coat. Cut into squares and dig in.
The result is a pretty darn good dessert. It had that perfect punch of lemon that one would expect in a lemon bar, and that lemon zest when balanced with the graham crackers and powdered sugar, well, you now have a dessert that anyone can make. This was enjoyed by even one of my pickiest eaters, and that says something, at least in my book.
Lemon Bars
Ingredients
- Ingredients for the Graham Cracker Crust:
- 1 cup graham cracker crumbs packed
- 3 tbsp unsalted butter melted
- 1 tbsp sugar
- Ingredients for the Lemon Bars:
- 3 whole eggs
- 1/3 cup fresh lemon juice
- 1 lemon zest only
- 1 cup granulated sugar
- 1 tsp baking powder
- pinch of salt
- powdered sugar
Instructions
- Start by preheating your oven to 350 degrees.
- In a small mixing bowl add the graham cracker crumbs, sugar, and melted butter. Mix to ensure the butter gets all through the graham crackers.
- Add the buttered graham crackers into a 9 inch baking pan. Pack the crust down onto the pan.
- Place in the preheated oven and bake for about 8 minutes. Once baked, remove the crust from the oven and let cool.
- Next, lets make the lemon filling.
- I use my KitchenAid on this process, but you can use a hand mixer if you do not have one.
- Add the eggs and sugar to the mixing bowl and mix on high speed for about 5 minutes. You want the mixture to increase in size. Once increased, reduce the speed and add in the salt, baking powder, and lemon zest. Then toss in the lemon juice. Scrape down the sides of the mixer, then give a final mix.
- Pour the mixture on top of the crust, and place back in the 350 degree oven for about 25 minutes. Remove the pan from the oven and let cool. Once cooled, place in the refrigerator to let the lemon curd form. My picture was before the cooling process as my daughter was super excited and could not resist any longer. Our curd did not raise as much as we wanted, but neither one of us was overly concerned.
- Once cooled, shower the top with powdered sugar to add a light coat. Cut into squares and dig in.
- The result is a pretty darn good dessert. It had that perfect punch of lemon that one would expect in a lemon bar, and that lemon zest when balanced with the graham crackers and powdered sugar, well, you now have a dessert that anyone can make. This was enjoyed by even one of my pickiest eaters, and that says something, at least in my book.