Wednesday, January 20, 2010

Lemon Bar Royalty

Baking is definitely a hobby of mine.  I particularly love to makes pies and pastries.

And let me tell you, this little confection deserves some recognition.

First, let me get this out of the way: I love anything that has to do with lemons.  LOVE.  LOVE.  LOVE.

And I love me a good lemon bar.  (My brother Darrec, however, does not :)

THIS is a good lemon bar.



One inch tall.  The perfect buttery crust.  Tons of lemony filling, not too tart.  Not too sweet.  Chewy top layer dusted with powdered sugar.

Three distinct layers.  No soggy crust.







I would like to declare, without one bit of hesitation;  that this is the KING of all lemon bars:





You bet, this bite went right into my mouth as soon as I snapped this shot...



Lemon Squares
from San Francisco pastry chef Emily Luchetti

for the crust:
1 1/2 c. flour
1/2 c. powdered sugar
12 T cold butter, cut into 1/2 inch pieces

To make the crust: Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Combine flour and powdered sugar in the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment and beat on low speed until mixed. Add butter and continue to mix until butter is the size of small peas, about 30 seconds. The mixture will be very dry. Gently press mixture evenly onto the bottom of a 9-by-13-inch baking pan.  Bake until golden brown, 20 to 25 minutes. Let cool to room temperature. 

Reduce oven temperature to 300 degrees.

for the filling:
6 large eggs
3 cups sugar
1 cup plus 2 T. fresh squeezed lemon juice
1/2 c. flour

To make filling: In a large bowl, whisk together eggs and granulated sugar until smooth. Stir in lemon juice and then the flour. Pour filling on top of crust.
Bake until lemon filling is set, about 40 minutes. Let cool to room temperature and then put in the refrigerator for 1 hour or keep at room temperature for 3 hours before cutting. Cut into squares, with a wet, sharp knife, measuring about 2 1/4 inches and dust the tops with confectioners’ sugar.


Don't eat the whole pan!!!





8 comments:

MegJill said...

Brooks proposed to me over his homemade lemon bars! They are his favorite, and he had roses and carnations on the lemon bars with a ring attached.
Yours look amazing! Do you have a professional camera or something? That looks like magazine food! Too pretty to eat?!
P.S. The paint I used on the chandelier is Krylon brand from Wal-Mart, in Oil Rubber Bronze. It is $3 a can and it used less than one can. Used the rest of the can to cover the gold on our dresser drawers! Finally, the dresser looks nice.

'T' said...

rapture and bliss. i can only eat half the pan because andrea loves lemon bars too. as for darrec, he'll pass.

Nicole Williams said...

Those look so good! Now I am going to be craving lemon bars all day!

Shelby said...

Nat. I haven't looked at Blogs forever and hello I have seen the mugs in person and I have tasted the lemon bars (thanks so much!) and everything was amazing. Thanks for sharing the recipe. Also thanks for the tips with money. What great ideas. You should be so proud of yourselves. What an accomplishment. Love you guys!

Shawn and Megan Atwood said...

I seriously almost ate my computer looking at those pictures.

Amanda Sue said...

I am so going to make these - too badI don't live close enough to just come and get some.

The Lane Family said...

These were WONDERFUL!!! I think that using freshly squeezed lemon juice really added to the yumminess of them :)

Not so good for the careful eating but a couple did not hurt too much :)

Zach and Tammy said...

hey Natalie, this is Tammy. I just made the lemon bars today. They are the best i have ever had. Most times when i make lemon bars they don't ever set up. This recipe worked for me and i love it. Thank you very much.