Gorgeous Lemon Bars Recipe
Adapted from Stella Parks' recipe on SeriousEats.com
Equipment
Ingredients
For the Crust:
- 4 1/2 oz (1 C) all-purpose flour
- 2 oz (½ C) powdered sugar
- 1/4 tsp kosher salt; for table salt use half as much
- 1/8 oz (1 Tbsp) fresh lemon zest
- 4 oz (1 stick) cold butter, cut into 1/4" dice
For the Custard:
- 9 1/2 oz (1⅓) C granulated sugar
- 3 large eggs cold
- 4 3/4 oz (½ C) egg yolks, from about 8 large eggs
- 1/4 oz (1 packed Tbsp) fresh lemon zest
- Pinch osher salt
- 11 oz (1⅓) C lemon juice, from about 8 large lemons (fresh really is much better than bottled lemon juice for this application)
- Also: more powdered sugar for dusting and any garnishes you like.
Instructions
Make the lemon bar crust
- Preheat your oven to 350°F (177°C).
- Combine all the crust ingredients in a food processor and pulse about a dozen times until it forms a coarse meal.
- Line an 8" x 8" cake pan (non-stick preferred) with parchment paper that hangs over the edges.
- Pour the crust-mix into the pan, shake it to level it, and press the crumbs down with your fingers. Try to even out any uneven spots.
- Bake the crust for 30 minutes, until golden brown and delicious smelling.
Make the lemon custard
- When there are about 10 minutes left on your crust timer, start making the custard.
- Whisk together the sugar, eggs, yolks, salt, and zest in a 4-quart saucepan with a heavy bottom.
- Once well combined, whisk in the lemon juice.
- Turn the heat on low and heat, stirring gently, until just warm to the touch (3–4 minutes)
- Increase the heat to medium-low and start temping with your Thermapen ONE as you continue to stir, scraping the bottom of the pot.
- When the custard reaches 170°F (77°C), after 8–9 minutes, remove it from heat.
- The crust should have come out of the oven by now, so strain the custard right onto the crust.
Bake and chill the lemon bars
- Cover the pan with aluminum foil and bake in the same oven for 10 minutes.
- Remove the pan from the oven, uncover, and allow to cool to room temperature.
- Re-cover with foil and chill in the refrigerator for at least 1 hour.
- Lift the bars from the pan using the overhanging parchment paper
- Slice with a sharp knife, dust with powdered sugar, and serve!
