Lemony Layer Bars Recipes

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.

LEMONY LAYER BARS

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 375°. Line a 13x9-in. baking pan with parchment, letting ends extend up sides. In a large bowl, mix cracker crumbs and butter. Press onto bottom of prepared pan. Sprinkle with white chips, coconut, almonds and chocolate chips., In a small bowl, combine milk, lemon curd and 1 tablespoon zest. Pour over chips. Sprinkle with remaining 1 tablespoon zest. Bake until edges are golden brown, 25-30 minutes. Cool completely in pan on a wire rack. Lifting with parchment, remove from pan. Cut into bars. Store in an airtight container.

LEMON-LIME LAYER BARS

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C).
• Combine 1 cup flour, 1/2 cup softened butter, and 3 tablespoons brown sugar in a bowl. Pat into the bottom of a 9x13-inch baking pan.
• Bake in the preheated oven until slightly golden, 8 to 10 minutes. Remove from the oven; leave the oven on.
• Combine 1 cup brown sugar, coconut, pecans, eggs, 3 tablespoons flour, vanilla, baking powder, and salt in a bowl and spread over baked first layer. No need to cool in between.
• Bake in oven for 20 minutes.
• Meanwhile, stir pudding mix, white sugar, 1/4 cup water, and egg yolks together in a medium saucepan. Stir in remaining water. Bring to a boil over medium heat, stirring constantly, until slightly thickened. Remove from heat and stir in lime gelatin mix until dissolved. Spread over baked second layer in the pan while still warm.
• Refrigerate until well set, 8 hours to overnight. Cut into 24 squares and serve.

THE BEST LEMON BARS

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Line a 9-by-13-inch baking pan with foil, leaving an overhang on 2 sides; spray lightly with nonstick cooking spray. Set aside.
• For the crust: Add the flour, cornstarch, confectioners' sugar and salt to the bowl of a food processor and pulse 10 times until combined. Add the cold butter and pulse until the mixture looks like coarse sand, about 30 times. (The dough will not come together in one mass.) Sprinkle the mixture evenly in the prepared pan and lightly pat it down. Bake, rotating the pan halfway through, until golden brown around the edges, 20 to 25 minutes.
• For the filling: Combine the eggs, yolks, sugar, flour, salt and lemon juice in a medium saucepan. Whisk continuously over medium heat, occasionally scraping down the sides and edges of the pan with a rubber spatula, until simmering and thickened, 4 to 5 minutes. Remove from the heat and whisk in the lemon zest and butter until combined.
• Lower the oven temperature to 300 degrees F. Pour the filling over the crust and bake until just set, 12 to 15 minutes.
• Place on a wire rack to cool to room temperature, then refrigerate until cold, about 2 hours.
• Use the foil overhang to lift the bars from the pan. Remove the foil and slice into squares. Dust with confectioners' sugar just before serving.

LEMON BARS

Steps:

• In a bowl, combine the flour, butter and confectioners' sugar. Pat into an ungreased 8-in. square baking pan. Bake at 350° for 20 minutes. , For filling, in a small bowl, beat eggs. Add the sugar, flour, baking powder, lemon juice and zest; beat until frothy. Pour over the crust. Bake 25 minutes longer or until light golden brown. Cool on a wire rack. Dust with confectioners' sugar. Cut into bars.

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.