This perfect Lemon Bars Recipe has two important things; the perfect amount of lemon and a big, rich buttery crust. I add a bit more lemon juice than most, and those things set my lemon bar recipe apart! If you love these you might also enjoy my Blueberry Lemon Bars!
Tips for Perfect Lemon Bars
- Opt for fresh lemon juice here, bottled just won’t taste the same.
- Use parchment paper to line your pan. This helps with easy removal.
- Allow them to cool for the full time allotted.
How to Store Lemon Bars
While these bars can be kept out at room temperature for several hours, they should be refrigerated if you can’t finish off the pan the same day you make it. If you know that you are going to be storing them, try to only cut off the pieces you need, not cutting up the entire pan into bars. (Hint: This also means nice crisp cuts when you serve them cold!) I usually place a piece of plastic wrap directly on top of the bars and then cover it with foil. Lemon bars can be stored for 2-3 days in the refrigerator.
How to Freeze Lemon Bars
If you are freezing the lemon bars I like to cut them into individual size portions and then wrap each bar with plastic wrap. Date and stack neatly in your freezer. To thaw, either place bars in the refrigerator the night before using or leave them on the counter to come to room temperature.
The Best Lemon Bars
Ingredients
CRUST
- 1 cup (2 sticks or 226 g) unsalted butter, room temperature
- ½ cup (100 g) granulated sugar
- 2 cups (256 g) all-purpose flour
FILLING
- 4 large eggs, room temperature
- 1 ½ cups (300 g) granulated sugar
- ¼ cup (32 g) all-purpose flour
- ⅔ cup (160 ml) freshly squeezed lemon juice
Instructions
CRUST
- Preheat oven to 350°F (175°C).
- In a medium bowl, blend together softened butter, 2 cups flour, and ½ cup sugar with a pastry cutter, a fork, or your hands. Press into the bottom of a 9×13 inch pan lined with parchment paper.
- Bake for 15-20 minutes in the preheated oven, or until firm and golden.
FILLING
- Whisk together 1 ½ cups sugar and ¼ cup flour. Crack eggs into a separate bowl, then whisk them into the sugar and flour mixture. Add ⅔ cup lemon juice. Pour over the baked crust.
- Bake for an additional 20 minutes in the oven. (Do not cover)
- Allow bars to cool in the fridge for at least 2 hours then dust with confectioners sugar.
- Cut into squares and serve.
Video
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Can you reduce the sugar to one cup in the recipe?
These were delicious! Followed the recipe exactly…the bars looked beautiful, and had a wonderful lemon taste! Will definely make again. Thanks for the recipe!
Why is there no way of printing this recipe? If there is, I apologise but I cannot find it
For Ineke Esveld: On my computer screen, there is a “Print Recipe” in black under the photo of the lemon bar.
Hi Amanda, I like lemon, but what I really really love is LIMES! My husband calls me “Ol’Limey” Anyway, what do you think about about mixing lemon and lime juice ? If Sprite can do it….it should work.
Thanks,
Chris
I love 🍋 lemons so bad I eat them with salt or I drink lemon juice with salt every other day, or even some times two times a day . I really are going to try these
Just baked these, and somehow during baking, the lemon went to the bottom, so when I pulled them out the whole pan was basically upside down. Any tips of what I did wrong?
Can you use bottled lemon juice if you don’t have fresh lemons?
Can you use real lemon juice.
All sounds great and so tasty!
I I absolutely love lemon squares. And these look yummy. Thank you for the recipe.
I made these using cinnamon graham crackers for the crust.