I, for one, love a great lemon bar! There’s just something about the tart and the sweet and the vibrant color that gets me every time! These are no exception and once you make them, I think you’ll agree…
Ingredients:
- 2 1/2 cups flour
- 1 cup powdered sugar
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 2 sticks butter, cut into 1-inch pieces
- 14 large egg yolks, plus 4 large eggs
- 2 cups plus 4 tablespoons sugar
- 1 1/3 cups lemon juice-fresh squeezed (about 9 lemons)*
- 1/2 cup lemon zest-finely grated
- pinch of salt
- 8 tablespoons unsalted butter, cut into 4 pieces
- 6 tablespoons heavy cream
- Powdered sugar to decorate
Directions:
For the crust:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Spray a 9 x 13 baking pan with cooking spray. Create a sling with parchment paper or foil and fit in the pan. Spray the sheets with nonstick cooking spray and set aside.
Put the flour, powdered sugar and salt in a food processor and pulse a few times. Add the butter and pulse 8 to 10 times, then process until the mixture is pale yellow and resembles coarse meal. Dump the mixture into the prepared pan and press firmly with your fingers into an even layer in the pan. Refrigerate while the oven is preheating, then bake the crust until golden brown, about 20 minutes.
For the filling:
Fit a strainer into a non-reactive mixing bowl and set aside. In a medium non-reactive bowl, whisk together the yolks and whole eggs until combined. Rub the lemon zest into the sugar, then add to the eggs and whisk until just combined. Add the lemon juice and salt; whisk until combined. Transfer the mixture to a medium non-reactive saucepan, add the butter pieces, and cook over medium-low heat, stirring constantly with a wooden spoon or heatproof spatula until the curd thickens slightly, about 5 minutes. Immediately pour the curd thru the strainer into the measuring cup or bowl. Stir in heavy cream; pour the curd into the warm crust immediately. Bake until the filling is shiny and opaque and the center 3 inches jiggle slightly, about 10-12 minutes. Cool to room temperature on a wire rack, remove the bars from the pan using the sling, cut into squares and dust with powdered sugar.
