When life hands you Lemons....Make Lemon Bars

I love lemon flavored desserts and this recipe from Williams-Sonoma (one of my ALL time FAVE stores!!) makes the BEST Lemon Bars!!

One of my favorite things to do is take fruits, vegetables, etc. from their natural state to food on my plate! Here is my Meyer's Lemon Tree when it was just a baby, budding tiny lemons.

Here's a picture with the same tree ALL grown up and ready to produce!

And here is the final product. Yum! Yum! Yum!

OK, OK! Here's the recipe!

For the Crust:

1 cup (5 oz/155g) all purpose (plain) flower

1/4 cup (1 oz./30g) confectioners' (icing) sugar

1/4 teaspoon of salt

1 teaspoon grated lemon zest. 

1/2 cup (4oz./125g) cold unsalted butter cut into small pieces 

Preheat the oven to 350F (180C). Have ready a 13 1/4 by 4 1/2 inch oblong tart pan with a removable bottom or an 8" in square baking pan with bottom and sides line with aluminum foil and generously greased. 

To make the crust, sift the flower (OK, I never really did this part) confectioners' sugar and salt together into a bowl and transfer to a food processor (I used my blender). Add the lemon zest and pulse to blend. Add the butter a few pieces at a time, processing just until the mixture is crumbly. Transfer the mixture to the prepared pan and press evenly into the bottom and sides to form the crust. 

Bake until the crust is just golden at the edges, about 25 minutes.

Meanwhile make the filling.

For the Filling:

3 tablespoons all-purpose flower

1/2 cup (4fl. oz/125ml) fresh lemon juice (Meyers is BEST!!)

3 large eggs

1 cup (8oz./250g) granulated sugar

1 tablespoon grated lemon zest

Pinch of salt

Confectioners' sugar for dusting (I do my best to make patterns with it!)

In a large measuring cup or pitcher, whisk together the flour and lemon juice. Add the eggs, granulated sugar, lemon zest, and salt, and whisk until smooth. When the crust is baked, carefully pull out the oven rack and pour the filling into the crust. Close the oven door and reduce the heat to 325F (165C). Bake until the center is springy to the touch, about 30 minutes. 

Transfer the pan to a wire rack and let cool completely. (Ok, I've never done this...I don't even own a wire rack!). If using a tart pan with removable bottom, place the pan on your outstretched palm and let the rim fall away or, using the sides of the foil as handles, carefully lift the cookie from the pan and place it on a cutting board. Using a fine mesh sieve (I have no idea what this is---probably why I can't make cool patterns?), dust the cookie generously with confectioners' sugar. To make a striped pattern lay strips of waxed paper (another thing I don't own) across the cookie before dusting and after dusting carefully remove the paper strips. 

With a thin sharp knife, cut crosswise into thin bars 3/4-1" wide. Using a small, offset spatula carefully remove the bars from the foil. Makes 12-16 bars. (Unless I'm cutting more like 9!)

P.S. This is NOT a low calorie food....hahaha! Bon Appetit! 

                                                                                                     XOXO,

Moderngypsygirl.