Garden Club Lemon Bars Recipes

EASY EATIN' LEMON BARS

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 350°.
• For Base& Topping: Combine cake mix and butter, and blend thoroughly.
• Add pecans and mix well.
• Reserve 1 cup of the crumb mixture for topping.
• Press remaining crumb mixture onto bottom of pan.
• Roll lightly with glass or pin to smooth out.
• For Filling: Combine pudding mix and sweetened condensed milk, mixing until smooth.
• Add lemon zest and juice to pudding mixture; mix well.
• Pour filling over base and spread gently across.
• Sprinkle with reserved crumb mixture.
• Bake 25-28 minutes or until light golden brown.
• Cool 10 minutes.
• For Glaze: Juice lemon to yield 3-5 teaspoons of juice.
• Combine powdered sugar and juice; drizzle over warm bars.
• Cool an additional 20 minutes.
• Cut into bars and serve.

GARDEN CLUB LEMON BARS

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 350°F.
• Combine crust ingredients until mixture resembles crumbs using a pastry blender or a couple of butter knives.
• Press into a greased and floured 8" square glass baking pan using your fingers- press it so that the entire bottom of the pan is covered evenly.
• Bake partially for 15 minutes, then remove from the oven.
• While the crust is prebaking, combine the filling ingredients and pour over the warm crust.
• Bake for about 15-20 minutes or until lightly browned- do not overbake.
• Let cool completely.
• Once cool, sift powdered sugar over the top- you may need more or less to taste.
• I like mine to look like they've been covered with a snow.
• Slice into bars and serve.

DECADENT CRUST LEMON BARS

Steps:

• For crust, mix together flour, sugar, and butter until crumbly.
• Pat into bottom and 1/4-inch up sides of a buttered 9x13 inch baking pan. Bake in a 350°F oven for 15 to 20 minutes, or until lightly browned.
• Meanwhile prepare topping. Beat eggs slightly.
• In a separate bowl, stir together sugar and flour. Add to eggs. Beat well.
• Add lemon juice, peel, baking powder, and salt. Beat until smooth.
• Pour over baked crust. Return to oven and bake 25-30 minutes longer, or until just set.
• Sprinkle with powdered sugar while hot. Let cool and cut into bars.

EASY CHEESY LEMON BARS

Steps:

• Bottom:
• Combine cake mix, butter, and egg. Mix with fork until moistened.
• Set aside 1 cup of mix.
• Grease bottom only of 9x13 pan.
• Pat mix into it.
• Top:
• Mix 3/4 container frosting (about 1 1/4 cups) with rest of cake mix, egg, cream cheese, and lemon juice.
• Beat 3 to 5 minutes.
• Spread over cake mixture.
• Bake at 350 degrees for 30 to 40 minutes or until lightly browned.
• When cool, spread top with remaining frosting.
• Store in refrigerator. Bars cool easier when chilled.

ALICE MEDRICH'S TANGY LEMON BARS

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 350°. Position a rack in the lower third of the oven.
• To make the crust: Cut butter into chunks and melt it in a medium saucepan over medium heat. Remove from the heat and stir in the sugar, vanilla, and salt. Add the flour and mix just until incorporated. Press the dough evenly over the bottom of the pan, Bake for 25- 30 minutes, or until the crust is well browned at the edges and lightly browned in the center.
• To make topping: While the crust is baking, stir together the sugar and flour in a medium bowl until well mixed. Whisk in the eggs. Stir in the lemon zest and juice. When the crust is ready, turn the oven down to 300 and slide the rack out without removing the pan. Pour the filling over the hot crust.
• Bake for 20- 25 minutes, or until the topping is puffed at the edges and no longer jiggles in the center when the pan is tapped. Set on a rack to cool completely in the pan. Lift the ends of the foil liner and transfer to a cutting board. Use a long sharp knife to cut into sixteen 2 inch bars. May be stored, airtight, in the refrigerator. Lemon bars keep perfectly for about 3 days; after 3 days the crust softens but the bars still taste quite good for the remainder of a week. Do not freeze. Sieve powdered sugar over the bars just before serving.
• Equipment: 8-inch square pan, lined on the bottom and up all 4 sides with foil.

LEMON BARS

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.
• For the crust, cream the butter and sugar until light in the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment. Combine the flour and salt and, with the mixer on low, add to the butter until just mixed. Dump the dough onto a well-floured board and gather into a ball. Flatten the dough with floured hands and press it into a 9 by 13 by 2-inch baking sheet, building up a 1/2-inch edge on all sides. Chill.
• Bake the crust for 15 to 20 minutes, until very lightly browned. Let cool on a wire rack. Leave the oven on.
• For the filling, whisk together the eggs, sugar, lemon zest, lemon juice, and flour. Pour over the crust and bake for 30 to 35 minutes, until the filling is set. Let cool to room temperature.
• Cut into triangles and dust with confectioners' sugar.

MRS. FIELD'S TRIPLE-LAYERED LEMON BARS

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 325.
• Prepare the shortbread crust: Cream butter and sugar in medium bowl with electric mixer set on high speed. Add vanilla and mix until combined. Add flour and mix at low speed until fully incorporated.
• Press dough evenly into bottom of an 8- by 8-inch baking pan. Refrigerate until firm, approximately 30 minutes.
• Prick shortbread crust with fork and bake for 30 minutes or until crust turns golden brown. Cool on rack to room temperature.
• Prepare the cream cheese filling while the crust is baking: Beat the cream cheese and sugar until smooth in medium bowl with electric mixer set on high speed. Add egg and lemon extract and beat on medium speed until light and smooth. Cover bowl tightly and refrigerate.
• Prepare the lemon curd: Blend the egg yolks with cornstarch and sugar in medium non-aluminum saucepan. Place over low heat and slowly whisk in water and lemon juice. Increase heat to medium-low and cook, stirring constantly, until mixture thickens enough to coat the back of a spoon. Remove from heat. Add lemon peel and butter and cool for 10 minutes.
• Assemble the bars: Sread chilled cream cheese filling evenly over cooled shortbread crust with spatula. Spread lemon curd evenly over cream cheese filling. Place pan in center of oven. Bake 30 to 40 minutes or until edges begin to turn light golden brown. Cool to room temperature on rack. Chill in refrigerator 1 hour before cutting into bars. Dust top with confectioners' sugar.