Everyday Living Lemon Squares Recipes

CREAMY LEMON SQUARES

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Butter an 8-inch square baking pan. Line bottom with parchment paper, leaving an overhang on two sides; butter paper.
• Make crust: Using an electric mixer, beat butter, sugar, and salt until light and fluffy. Add flour, and mix on low just until combined. Press dough into the bottom and 1/2 inch up sides of prepared pan; prick all over with a fork. Bake until lightly golden, 15 to 20 minutes.
• Make filling: In a large bowl, whisk together yolks, condensed milk, and lemon juice until smooth. Pour over hot crust in pan; return to oven, and bake until filling is set, 25 to 30 minutes. Cool completely in pan.
• Refrigerate until filling is firm, about 2 hours or up to 3 days. Using paper overhang, lift cake onto a work surface; cut into 16 squares, and dust with confectioners sugar.

BEST LEMON SQUARES

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Spray a 9x13-inch baking dish with cooking spray.
• Process 2 cups flour, butter, and 1/2 cup confectioners' sugar in a food processor until mixture resembles coarse crumbs; press into the prepared baking dish.
• Bake in the preheated oven until the edges of the crust are golden brown, 18 to 22 minutes. Cool crust to room temperature.
• Beat white sugar, eggs, 1/4 cup flour, lemon juice, baking powder, and lemon zest together in a bowl using an electric mixer until light and fluffy; pour onto the cooled crust.
• Bake in the oven until custard is set, 25 to 28 minutes. Cool lemon squares completely; dust the top with more confectioners' sugar.

LEMON SQUARES

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 350°. In a large bowl, combine the flour, confectioners' sugar and salt. Cut in butter until crumbly. Pat into a greased 15x10x1-in. baking pan. Bake 16-20 minutes or until set and top is golden brown., For topping, combine the eggs, sugar, lemon juice, baking powder and salt in a bowl. Pour over crust (pan will be full). Bake 16-20 minutes or until set and top is golden brown. Cool. Dust with confectioners' sugar. Cut into squares.

PERFECT LEMON SQUARES

Steps:

• Preheat an oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C).
• Place 1 1/3 cups flour, 1/4 cup white sugar, 1 tablespoon lemon zest, and the ground almonds in a mixing bowl. Add the softened butter and mix with your hands until the mixture resembles coarse crumbs. Press into the bottom of a 9-inch square baking dish.
• Bake in the preheated oven until the crust is golden brown, about 20 minutes.
• While the crust is baking, stir together the brown sugar, 1/4 cup white sugar, 1 tablespoon flour, and the baking powder in a bowl. Add the eggs, coconut, lemon zest, and lemon juice; whisk until the sugars have dissolved; pour over the crust.
• Return to the oven and bake until the lemon filling has firmed, about 15 minutes. Cool completely in the pan before cutting.

CITRUS BARS

Steps:

• Make crust: In a food processor, pulse flour, sugar, and salt until combined. Add butter and pulse until mixture resembles coarse meal, with a few pea-size pieces of butter remaining. Sprinkle with 1/4 cup ice water. Pulse just until dough is crumbly but holds together when squeezed (if necessary, add 1/4 cup more ice water, 1 tablespoon at a time). Do not overmix. Form dough into a disk, wrap tightly in plastic, and refrigerate until firm, 1 hour (or up to overnight).
• Preheat oven to 375 degrees. On a lightly floured work surface, roll out dough to a 12-by-16-inch rectangle (patch any holes well). Place in a 10-by-14-by-1-inch rimmed jelly-roll pan with dough going up the sides; trim overhang. Prick dough all over with a fork and freeze until firm, 20 minutes. Line dough with parchment paper, leaving overhang on all sides. Fill with pie weights or dried beans. Bake until edges are dry, about 15 minutes. Remove parchment and weights; bake until bottom is dry and flaky, about 10 minutes.
• Make filling: In a medium bowl, whisk together citrus zests and juices, granulated sugar, and eggs until well combined. Pour into crust and bake until custard is just set in center, about 15 minutes. Let cool completely in pan on a wire rack, 1 hour. To serve, dust with confectioners' sugar and cut into 18 squares.

MEYER LEMON CHEESECAKE BARS

Steps:

• Prepare the Curd: Whisk together lemon juice, granulated sugar, and eggs in a saucepan. Cook over medium-low, whisking constantly, until slightly thickened, about 3 minutes. Add butter a few cubes at a time, and cook, whisking constantly, until melted before adding more butter. Continue cooking, whisking constantly, until Curd is smooth and coats the back of a spoon, about 2 minutes. Pour through a fine mesh strainer into a heatproof bowl, discarding solids. Stir in zest; chill 1 hour.
• Meanwhile, prepare the Crust: Preheat oven to 350°F. Line a 13- x 9-inch baking pan with parchment paper, leaving a 2-inch overhang on all sides. Stir together crumbs, melted butter, and sugar in a medium bowl until combined. Press on bottom and ½ inch up sides of prepared pan. Bake in oven until Crust begins to brown, about 10 minutes. Transfer to a wire rack to cool slightly, about 15 minutes. Reduce oven temperature to 325°F.
• Meanwhile, prepare the Filling: Beat cream cheese and sugar in bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment on medium speed until smooth, about 2 minutes, scraping down sides as needed. Add sour cream, eggs, and vanilla, beating on medium speed until smooth, about 2 minutes. Pour cream cheese mixture over Crust. Using a tablespoon, dollop chilled Curd on top; swirl Curd into mixture using the tip of a knife.
• Bake at 325°F until Filling is almost set but jiggles slightly in center, 35 to 40 minutes. Transfer to a wire rack, and cool 1 hour. Refrigerate until well chilled, about 4 hours. Using the parchment paper overhang, lift cheesecake out of pan. Cut into 16 (2¼- x 3¼-inch) bars, and serve.

EVERYDAY LIVING LEMON SQUARES

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 350°F.
• Line a 9x9 baking pan with parchment paper and grease lightly.
• Combine flour, cornstarch, powdered sugar and salt that are listed as crust ingredients-either by hand or pulse several times in a food processor.
• Add cold butter and process in machine or by hand until mixture resembles coarse crumbs.
• Press into bottom of pan and a little way up the sides of pan to give it a little extra crust.
• Refrigerate for 15 minutes.
• Bake for 20 minutes in 350°F preheated oven. Remove from oven and reduce oven heat to 325°F.
• For the filling, beat the four large eggs, then add sugar and mix that in well. In a separate bowl, combine flour, salt and baking powder, mix well and add to bowl containing eggs and sugar.
• Mix well again and to that add your 2/3 cup of fresh lemon juice, mix until blended.
• Pour batter evenly over your baked crust.
• Bake in the preheated 325 degree oven for 20-30 minutes, checking after 20 for doneness.
• When out of the oven and cooled sprinkle the top of the squares with sifted powdered sugar to taste, lift the parchment paper out of the pan, and cut into squares.
• Number of squares depends on how large you want them to be.
• *Cook time reflects 15 minutes for chilling the crust*.

LEMON SQUARES

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Line an 8-inch-square baking pan with foil and generously coat it with cooking spray.
• To prepare crust: Combine flour, confectioners' sugar, 3 tablespoons cornstarch and 1/4 teaspoon salt in a medium bowl. Add oil and butter; using your fingertips, blend into the flour mixture until evenly combined. The mixture will be a little crumbly. Firmly press the dough into the prepared pan. Bake the crust until just barely beginning to brown around the edges, 15 to 20 minutes.
• To prepare filling: Whisk granulated sugar, cornstarch, baking powder and 1/8 teaspoon salt in a medium bowl until well combined. Whisk in eggs. Stir in water and lemon juice. Pour the filling over the crust.
• Bake until just set, 18 to 20 minutes. (The center should still be a little jiggly--it will firm up as it cools.)
• Let cool to room temperature in the pan on a wire rack, about 1 1/2 hours. Gently lift out of the pan all in one piece using the edges of the foil. Cut into 9 squares. Garnish with lemon zest and dust with confectioners' sugar, if desired, just before serving.