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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Thank you for making my recipe! You took pictures, right? Well go ahead and post them on Instagram! Be sure to mention me @iambaker and use the hashtag #YouAreBaker.
Was wondering if you could use Splenda for the sugar? My husband & I are both diabetic, and I am always trying to find how to bake with splenda. Haven’t had too much luck!
The lemon bars look heavenly, I will be trying these too. Thankyou for sharing.
Mine are not yellow. I have not tasted them yet as they just came out of the oven.
Very good and easily understandable instruction. Even a non-baker can make this lemon square bars. Thanks much.
What kind of butter should I use
I’m diabetic and I’d love to bake this soon! Would the lemon bars’ taste/consistency change if I use Equal or Splenda instead of sugar?
Thank you so much, you had the courtesy of writing measures in g and ml too. I’m in Spain and I will be following this page for nee recipes from this moment on.
Can’t wait to try this recipe, but why can’t I print it? I have arthritis in my hands and it gets hard to write recipes out.
Hi Nancy, have you tried right clicking the recipe square? It may come up as 9 pages so I selected pages 4,5 to print. Hope this helps.
Here’s what you can do instead: Go to your email program and create a new folder that you name “Recipes.” Highlight the recipe you want and copy and paste it into an email. Send the email to yourself, and when you get it, move it to your new recipe folder. I usually copy and paste a picture of the food in the email, and don’t forget to label it on the subject line.
No foil—use parchment paper. Better for you.
Can this be frozen, after cut into squares?