My Favorite Lemon Bars are Ridiculously Tart

I was on my run this morning chatting with a friend on the phone. (And when I say “on a run” I really mean barely walk-jogging. Let’s be real, January got me like—) Suddenly a car speeding by on the 45 mph road slows to a near stop beside me.

“Just to let you know, there are a couple deer up there!” He calls, pointing ahead and looking very concerned.

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You know those moments when your brain works way faster than your mouth? I thought of several different ways I could respond in this odd moment:

• “Oh wow, cool, a deer sighting!”
• “Oh gosh, thanks for the heads up, I’ll be sure not to run into them!” (??)
• “Watch out! Don’t hit them with your car while you are busy telling a random pedestrian you saw a deer!”
• “Are you worried they are going to…charge me or something?” Like, who exactly are you concerned for here? These aren’t like, ferocious moose we’re talking about. They are DEER, God’s most docile, flighty creature

In the end, I saw no deer at all. And now I’m wondering if I should have been checking my pockets to see if someone had come and grabbed my wallet during the exchange. Maybe it was an elaborate set up? “I’LL distract her, YOU grab the money” (Later, in the getaway car: “your genius diversion was to tell her there was a DEER?? WTF man?”)

Lemon Bars are my favorite dessert of all time forever and ever amen

The other day I casually mentioned to my friend Tawna that I made lemon bars. “Oh really?” she said. “I’ve never had a lemon bar.”

And then my brain EXPLODED.

Okay not really, but GAH!!! The thought of life without lemon bars. If I could only eat one dessert for the rest of my life, it would be this recipe for lemon bars, no lie. (Okay. I’m lying. If in some sick world I really did have to choose, I would flip a coin between these lemon bars and The Best Chocolate Cake I’ve Ever Had. And then I would do everything in my power to game the system to get both.)

(Tawna had never had lemon bars because she can’t have gluten. But good news! These lemon bars are SUPER easy to make gluten free. See the recipe notes! I made sure Tawna got to eat some of these, don’t worry. It’s my mission to share the gospel of the lemon bar. Are you a believer yet??)

I posted this recipe the first time just 3 months after starting my blog, in January of 2012 (dreary January needs lemon bars, don’t you think?) This is actually my THIRD time updating this recipe in the last 13 years. New record for me. Lemon Bars are a work of art that deserve to be lovingly revisited again and again. Quarterly, maybe. 😂

I wanted to update because the previous recipe insisted that you find yourself an 8×11 inch pan to get the ratios right. Which is annoying, because it’s an uncommon pan size. I want to be able to whip these up into a 9×13 pan, to serve a crowd. So, back to the kitchen I went. And voila! I made some other updates, mostly to do with the crust. I’m SO happy with how they turned out!!

Let me tell you all the details. I got some RULES. First up: the crust.

The shortbread crust of your dreams

Recently I went down the rabbit hole perfecting my Shortbread Cookies (have you made those yet??) I did a lot of research and testing to get the perfect crumbly, buttery texture. I applied what I learned to the shortbread crust on these lemon bars. I became (perhaps, ahem) a little obsessed with getting the texture JUST right (It’s not exactly the same as a stand-alone shortbread.) I want it crumbly but not so much that it falls apart when you pick it up. I want it buttery to the extreme. I want it to melt in your mouth.

The answer? Use all powdered sugar in the crust to give it that melt-y texture. Use cornstarch in place of a little bit of the flour to make it super tender. Use zest in the crust for ultimate flavor. Voila!! Now the top layer:

Let’s talk lemon custard

Here’s the thing guys. I don’t mess around when it comes to lemon bars. If I’m going to eat something citrusy, I want it citrus TO THE MAX. Don’t give me any of this wimpy “truck full of lemons driving by” business. (who remembers the La Croix meme? 😂) I want that lemon in my FACE.

Fun fact about me: I inherited this weird trait from my dad, that whenever we eat something extremely tart, it makes our faces sweat. Just our faces, it’s so odd. I have no idea if there is a specific name for this phenomenon, but rest assured: I can barely eat these lemon bars after a while because they are so overwhelming. After stealing tiny bite number 95 from the pan, you will find me hopping around the kitchen, frantically waving at my face. Worth it every time.

This recipe was developed to be TART. If that’s not your thing, if you just want regular run-of-the-mill lemon bars, then follow the recipe notes to add more sugar to the custard layer. That’s the only change you have to make! Easy peasy.

The other thing that makes the custard layer more perfect than other recipes: there’s more of it. I want LOTS of lemon custard on top of my delightfully tender shortbread. It’s the perfect ratio! I love it!

The key to a Perfect Lemon Bar

Here are my rules for perfect lemon bars:

• A THICK, buttery shortbread crust
• More lemon custard than usual. This recipe calls for more volume of ingredients in the lemon layer than the average recipe (6 eggs rather than 4, over 1 cup of lemon juice rather than a 1/2 cup)
• Use ONLY powdered sugar in the crust to make it super tender, giving it that “dissolve on your tongue” texture
• Use cornstarch in the crust, again, to make it tender
• Use a TON of lemon zest in the custard layer. That’s where all the flavor is, and the only way to get that “punch” of lemon in your bars.
• Buy yourself a microplane grater to get the finest zest. There are not a lot of less-common kitchen tools I insist on, but this is one of them.
• Use a ton of lemon juice. If you plan to make lemon bars more than once in your life, another uncommon kitchen tool that makes the process way more fun is an electric citrus juicer. They are not too expensive, and save you from the monotony of juicing a zillion lemons by hand. (Heaven forbid you have a hangnail or a paper cut! agh!)
• An uncommon opinion: chill these bars completely, then let them rest on the counter for 30-60 minutes before serving. I like my lemon bars cold, but not SO cold that I can’t taste the flavors. More on this below.
• When slicing your lemon bars, cut off and discard the very edges of the pan. And when I say “discard,” I mean discard them directly into your mouth. I’m not saying they aren’t good enough to eat by yours truly. But if I’m slicing up these bars to bring to an event and I want every piece to be amazing, I cut off the edges. The center pieces are the best, for sure. The edges get slightly over cooked as a natural result of baking long enough to cook the center, and can taste rather gummy. It’s not that big of a deal, just a small detail and my own preference.
• Don’t halve the recipe to bake in a square size pan. Will it work? Yes, of course. But referencing the point above: the very outer edge of lemon bars are not that great, by nature. So by the time you make a square pan of lemon bars, then cut off the edges, you’re left with not that much left. And this might be totally ok with you, come to think of it. I have a hard time accepting other people’s level of restraint sometimes, especially when it comes to lemon bars! DON’T YOU WANT TO EAT THEM ALL??

Here’s one of my photos from when I originally posted this back in 2012. I was soooooo proud of it. *pinches cheek of former self*

And here is a photo from the SECOND time I shot these lemon bars, back in 2017 I think:

It’s really fun for me to see how my photography style has changed over the years!

How to serve easy lemon bars

I love serving lemon squares at occasions where many lemon lovers will be present. And by lemon lovers, I do mean adult women. There is just SOMETHING about lemon bars that ladies love.

My son Truman is 11 and absolutely loves these lemon bars, more than he loves most desserts, so it’s not an exclusionary rule of course. But if you want your lemon squares to disappear, take them to a baby shower, a book club, or a girls night in. You’ll get top marks :)

How to store your leftover lemon bars

Lemon bars should be stored, covered, in the fridge. Now here’s my secret: I don’t serve these IMMEDIATELY after taking them out of the fridge. I do insist on cold lemon bars; they must be chilled completely before serving. But I like to let them rest out of the fridge, just on the counter, for at least 30-45 minutes.

This is for the crust. The crust is mostly butter, and butter in the fridge is pretty hard (as you know from that moment that you have a hot piece of toast and only cold butter to meagerly scrape across it 😂 life’s hard, right.) If you let the butter (or the shortbread crust of your lemon bars) sit out at room temperature for a few minutes, it’s softer, easier to bite through, and you are actually able to TASTE the buttery flavor, rather than just tasting “cold.”

Lemon bar frequently asked questions

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THE ORIGINAL RECIPE: I have a request from long-time readers to provide the previous recipe as it has appeared on the blog for the last 12 years! It’s mostly the same, but fits this recipe fits in an 8×11 inch pan:

Ingredients

For the crust

• 1 cup butter, softened
• 1/2 cup white sugar
• 2 cups all-purpose flour OR a gluten-free blend (I used Bob’s Red Mill), spooned and leveled
• 1/4 teaspoon salt (or a few shakes more, to taste)
• zest of one lemon

For the custard

• 1 and 1/2 cups white sugar
• 1/4 cup + 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour OR a gluten-free blend (I used Bob’s Red Mill), spooned and leveled
• 3/4 cup fresh lemon juice (about 4 medium lemons)
• 4 large eggs
• zest of 2-3 lemons (more zest=more tart. I add tons.)
• powdered sugar, for dusting

Instructions

1. For the crust:
2. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Prepare an 8×11 inch pan by lining it with parchment paper or spraying with nonstick spray. Or you could use foil, make sure you spray it with nonstick spray.
3. In a medium bowl (or stand-mixer), beat together softened butter with 1/2 cup sugar, salt and zest.
4. Add 2 cups flour, either all-purpose or a gluten-free blend. Make sure you use a scoop or spoon to place the flour in your measuring cup, then level it off. You don’t want to pack your flour.
5. Beat in the flour. It won’t come together in a ball probably, but you want to get big clumps that are sticking together. Make sure the butter and flour are incorporated.
6. Press into the bottom of the prepared 8×11 inch pan. Wet your fingers a little if the dough sticks to your hands.
7. Bake at 350 for 24-26 minutes, or until golden around the edges.

For the Custard:

1. In a bowl (or using stand mixer), whisk together the remaining 1 and 1/2 cups sugar and 1/4 cup + 2 tablespoons flour. You can use the unwashed bowl you just used for the crust, but only if you scrape it out pretty well. You don’t want clumps in your custard.
2. After whisking the flour and sugar, whisk in the lemon juice, eggs, and zest.
3. When the crust is done, pour the custard over the top. You don’t have to wait for the crust to cool.
4. Bake for an additional 26-28 minutes in the preheated oven. The edges should be set with the center still a little wiggly (just a little). The bars will firm up as they cool.
5. Cover and refrigerate for at least 3 hours until they are cold, then dust with powdered sugar right before serving. Don’t bother doing it before because it will just seep into the custard and you won’t see it.
6. Store covered in the fridge.