Lemon Bars From Cooks Illustrated Recipe 385

THE BEST LEMON BARS

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C).
• In a medium bowl, blend together softened butter, 2 cups flour and 1/2 cup sugar. Press into the bottom of an ungreased 9x13 inch pan.
• Bake for 15 to 20 minutes in the preheated oven, or until firm and golden. In another bowl, whisk together the remaining 1 1/2 cups sugar and 1/4 cup flour. Whisk in the eggs and lemon juice. Pour over the baked crust.
• Bake for an additional 20 minutes in the preheated oven. The bars will firm up as they cool. For a festive tray, make another pan using limes instead of lemons and adding a drop of green food coloring to give a very pale green. After both pans have cooled, cut into uniform 2 inch squares and arrange in a checker board fashion.

LEMON BARS

Steps:

• In a large bowl, cream together the butter and both sugars with a hand-held mixer on medium speed (or mix by hand with a wooden spoon) until light and fluffy, about 5 minutes. Beat in the vanilla until thoroughly combined, scraping down the sides of the bowl.
• In a medium bowl, sift together both flours, the baking powder, and the salt. With the mixer on low speed, slowly blend the dry ingredients into the wet ingredients, scraping down the sides, until the flour is completely blended and the dough is homogenous.
• Scrape the dough from the bowl onto a sheet of plastic. Wrap well and press down to form a 1/2-inch-thick square. Refrigerate the dough until it's firm but still pliable, about 20 minutes. Heat the oven to 350°F. Prepare two sheets of parchment or waxed paper, each at least 11×11 inches. If using waxed paper, grease an 8×8-inch metal or glass baking pan with butter.
• When the dough is firm, unwrap it and put it between the sheets of parchment or paper. Roll the dough to an approximate square, slightly larger than 8×8 inches and about 1/4 inch thick. Remove the top sheet of parchment or paper, trim the dough with a dull knife to an 8×8-inch square, and, if using parchment, put it and the dough into an 8×8-inch baking pan. If using waxed paper, flip the dough into the greased pan and peel off the paper. Press the dough into the bottom of the pan, letting the excess parchment come up the sides (trim it to about 1 inch above the rim). The dough should be an even thickness all around but it needn't be perfectly smooth. Bake until the shortbread is light golden on top, 25 to 30 minutes; in a glass pan, look for a golden brown color on the bottom. Remove the pan from the oven, but keep the heat set to 350°F as you make the lemon curd.
• In a medium saucepan, heat the lemon juice, butter, and cream to just under a boil; the butter should be melted. Remove from the heat.
• In a medium bowl, whisk together by hand the sugar, eggs, and yolks until combined. Whisk in a bit of the hot liquid and then gradually whisk in a bit more until it's all added. This technique, called tempering, heats the eggs slowly and gently so they don't curdle.
• Pour the mixture back into the saucepan and heat on medium, stirring constantly with a wooden spoon, scraping the bottom and sides of the pan to keep the eggs from scrambling. Cook until the lemon curd coats the spoon thickly enough to leave a line when you draw your finger through, 5 to 8 minutes. Remove from the heat and strain through a fine sieve. Stir in the salt and vanilla.
• Pour the curd over the baked shortbread and smooth it evenly with a spatula, if needed. Bake until the curd has set and jiggles like firm jello, 15 to 20 minutes. Let cool to room temperature. Gently tug on the parchment on all sides to loosen the bars from the pan. Lift them out and onto a cutting board and refrigerate until the curd has completely set, at least 4 hours. Trim the sides for a cleaner look and cut into 16 pieces.

SUSAN'S PERFECT LEMON BARS

Steps:

• Adjust oven rack to middle position and heat oven to 350°F.
• Lightly butter a 9 x 13 inch baking dish and line it with a sheet of parchment paper.
• Dot parchment paper with butter, then lay a second sheet of parchment crosswise over the first one, allowing the ends to extend over the top edge of the pan by about 1 inch.
• To Mix Crust in Food Processor: In a food processor, fitted with steel blade, pulse together the flour, confectioner's sugar, cornstarch and salt to mix well.
• Add 12 Tablespoons butter and process to blend (about 8 to 10 seconds), then pulse until mixture is a pale yellow color and resembles a coarse meal, (about three-1-second bursts).
• To Mix Crust By Hand: Mix flour, confectioner's sugar, cornstarch and salt together in a medium bowl.
• Freeze butter and grate it on the large holes of a box grater into the flour mixture.
• Toss butter pieces to coat.
• Rub coated butter pieces between your fingers for a minute, until flour turns pale yellow and coarse.
• Sprinkle crust mixture into parchment lined pan.
• Using both hands, firmly press mixture into an even, 1/4" layer over the entire pan bottom and about 1/2" up the sides.
• Refrigerate for about 30 minutes.
• Remove chilled crust and bake at 350°F for about 20 minutes, or until golden brown.
• Filling: Prepare filling while crust is baking.
• In a medium bowl, whisk eggs, sugar and flour.
• Stir in lemon zest, juice, milk and salt; stirring to blend well.
• Remove crust from oven, and reduce oven temperature to 325°F.
• Stir filling mixture to reblend and pour over warm crust.
• Return bars to oven and bake about 20 minutes, or until filling feels firm when lightly touched.
• Remove from oven and place pan on wire rack to cool until almost room temperature (at least 30 minutes).
• Grasp the edges of the lengthwise parchment paper (long sides of the pan) and lift the lemon bars out of the pan and onto a cutting board or counter.
• Carefully peel the paper down from the sides and using a pizza cutter or knife, slice them into serving size bars, wiping pizza cutter or knife clean between cuts as necessary.
• Sieve confectioner's sugar over bars, if desired.
• Leftover bars can be sealed in plastic wrap and refrigerated for up to 2 days.

LEMON BARS - FROM COOK'S ILLUSTRATED RECIPE - (3.8/5)

Steps:

• Before beginning, read the entire recipe and measure all ingredients. The warm filling must be added to the warm crust. Start preparing the filling when the crust goes into the oven. Be sure to cool the bars completely before cutting them. 1.) For the crust: Spray a 9-inch square baking pan with non-stick cooking spray. Fold two 16-inch pieces of foil or parchment paper lengthwise to measure 9 inches wide. Fit first sheet in the bottom of the greased pan, pushing it into the corners and up the sides of the pan (the overhang will help in removal of the baked bars). Fit the second sheet in the pan in the same manner, perpendicular to the first sheet. Spray the sheets with more non-stick cooking spray. 2.) Place flour, powdered sugar and salt in a food processor and process briefly. Add the butter and process to blend, 8 to 10 seconds, until the mixture is pale yellow and resembles coarse meal. Sprinkle the mixture into the prepared pan and press firmly with your fingers in to an even layer over the entire pan bottom and slightly up the sides. Refrigerate for 30 minutes. 3.) Preheat the oven to 350* and adjust an oven rack to the middle position. Bake the crust for 20 minutes. 4.) For the filling: In a medium-sized non-reactive bowl (glass or stainless steel), whisk together the yolks and whole eggs until combined (about 5 seconds). Add the granulated sugar and whisk until just combined. Add the lemon zest, lemon juice and salt. Whisk until combined. Transfer the mixture to a medium-sized non-reactive saucepan (the heavier the better). Add the butter pieces and cook over medium-low heat, stirring constantly with a wooden spoon until the lemon curd thickens to a thin sauce-like consistency and registers 170 degrees on an instant-read thermometer, about 5 minutes. Immediately pour the curd through a single-mesh stainless steel strainer set over a clean non-reactive bowl. Stir in the heavy cream; pour the curd onto the warm crust immediately. 5.) Bake until the filling is shiny and opaque and the center 3 inches jiggle slightly when shaken, about 15 minutes. Cool on a wire rack to room temperature, about 45 minutes. Refrigerate until completely chilled. 6.) Remove the bars from the pan using the foil or parchment handles and transfer to a cutting board. Cut into 16 squares, wiping the knife clean between cuts, as necessary. 7.) Sprinkle powdered sugar over the bars, if desired.