Norwegian Lemon Squares Recipes

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 MERINGUE SQUARES

Steps:

• Heat oven to 425°F Lightly butter an 8-inch square baking pan. Line pan with parchment paper or foil, extending over sides by 2 inches; set aside.
• For the crust: In a small mixing bowl, combine bake mix, butter, cream cheese and sour cream. With an electric mixer on low, beat just until combined. Form into a ball, then press into a 4-inch disc. Wrap well in plastic and chill 20 minutes. Using fingers, press dough in an even layer over the bottom of prepared pan. Sprinkle almonds over top and press firmly into dough. Using a fork, prick dough in several places. Loosely cover pan with foil; bake 10 minutes. Reduce oven temperature to 375°F and continue to bake until crust is browned, about 15 minutes more. Cool on a wire rack. Reduce oven temperature to 325°F.
• For the lemon filling: In a 1 1/2-quart heavy saucepan, combine egg, egg yolks and sugar substitute. Stir in lemon zest and lemon juice. Cook over medium-low heat, stirring constantly, just until the mixture thickens, 4 to 6 minutes. Do not overcook. Remove from heat and add butter. Whisk until blended and smooth. Pour into a small bowl, place plastic wrap directly on surface of filling and refrigerate until chilled, about 30 minutes.
• For the meringue: In a large mixing bowl, with an electric mixer on medium, beat egg whites until frothy. Add cream of tartar. Increase speed to medium-high and beat just until egg whites form stiff peaks, about 2 minutes. Beat in sugar substitute, 1 tablespoon at a time, scraping down sides of bowl once or twice. Add vanilla. Beat until thick, about 30 to 45 seconds.
• To assemble: Evenly spread lemon filling over baked crust. Drop mounds of meringue over filling. Using the back of a spoon, quickly spread meringue, completely covering lemon filling. Bake until meringue is golden brown, 15 to 18 minutes. Cool on wire rack. Run knife along unlined sides of pan and, holding extended ends of parchment, carefully lift out of pan. Cut into 9 squares. Chill until ready to serve. (If assembling completely, squares must be served on the day prepared. Can be refrigerated up to 3 hours; see note below for making ahead.) Sprinkle meringue squares with almonds before serving.
• Tip: The crust and lemon filling can be made up to one day ahead. Refrigerate filling in an airtight container. Store crust at room temperature. On the day of serving, follow step 4 to prepare meringue and assemble as instructed in step 5.

NO BAKE LEMON SQUARES

Steps:

• FILLING.
• In a small bowl, mix Condensed Milk with the 1/4 cup Lemon Juice. It will appear runny at first but when it sits, it thickens. Set aside.
• In a square container (I use a Tupperware square container that I can seal with the lid) line with graham crackers. You will have to cut some crackers to fit. Take a bread and butter knife and gently saw through the cracker until it cuts through.
• Top with the lemon mixture.
• Top the lemon mixture with another layer of graham crackers. Again, you will have to cut some to fit around the edges.
• ICING.
• Cream the butter with a bit of the icing sugar until there are no lumps left. Add more icing sugar a bit at a time until it's too hard to stir. Add a tsp of lemon juice and mix until smooth again and no lumps remain. Keep alternating icing sugar and lemon juice until its of spreading consistency.
• Spread over top layer of graham crackers.
• Cover and let sit over night.
• Cut into squares and enjoy.

REALEMON LEMON SQUARES

Steps:

• Cream together ingredients for crust and press into 9 x 13-inch pan.
• Bake for 20 minutes at 350 degrees.
• Mix together filling ingredients and pour over first layer.
• Bake 25 minutes.
• Sprinkle with powdered sugar while warm.

MAGIC LEMON SQUARES

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 350F (325F if using a glass dish).
• In medium bowl, combine oats, flour, coconut, nuts, sugar, baking powder, and butter. Stir to a crumbly mixture. Set aside.
• In a medium bowl, combine milk and lemon juice.
• Pat 1/2 of crumb mixture evenly in bottom of pan. Spread milk mixture over and sprinkle remaining crumb mixture on top.
• Bake 25-30 minutes or until lightly browned. Cool thoroughly before serving.

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.