How to Make the BEST Lemon Bars
The way to make the best lemon bars is to use a buttery shortbread crust and real lemon curd as the filling. These classic lemon bars are bright and tart with the perfect contrast of crust and filling.
OVERVIEW
- Skill Level: Beginner
- Components Used: Shortbread Crust and Lemon Curd
The best lemon bars start with a slightly sweet and buttery shortbread crust. The crust is topped with a thick layer of real lemon curd.
The lemon curd for these bars is made without flour and without cornstarch, keeping the color bright and the flavor fresh and tart! These bars are very reminiscent of lemon meringue pie!
Variation Ideas
Lemon Meringue Bars: Top these bars with a dollop of soft, silky meringue. If desired, toast the meringue with a small kitchen torch.
Citrus Bars: Swap the lemon juice and zest with another type of citrus fruit like grapefruit or lime.
Lemon Bars with Graham Cracker Crust: Swap the shortbread crust with a crunchy graham cracker crust.
How to Make the Best Lemon Bars
The process of making the best lemon bars is actually quite easy. Simply follow this step-by-step process.
Prepare the Crust
Shortbread crust comes together very quickly by combining the ingredients in the mixing bowl all at once. The mixture will be very crumbly when it goes into the parchment-lined pan.
Use damp fingers to firmly and evenly press the dough into the pan and use a fork to dock the dough all over. Par-bake the crust before adding the lemon curd filling.
Prepare the Filling
All of the ingredients for the lemon curd go into a medium saucepan all at once. Whisk these ingredients together and cook over low heat, stirring continuously, until the curd starts to bubble and thicken.
Strain the prepared curd into a bowl or right over the prepared crust. This will catch any lumps that may have formed and produce silky smooth lemon bars.
Bake
Tent the baking pan with foil, making sure it does not touch the lemon curd filling. This will provide a steamy environment for the lemon bars to create a very smooth glossy top. Bake the bars for about 15 minutes to set the lemon curd.
Cool & Chill
After the bars are cooled to room temperature, chill them for at least an hour in the refrigerator to completely set the filling before serving.
Store
Lemon bars should be stored covered in the refrigerator to prevent spoilage and to keep the filling set.
Tips, Tricks, & Techniques
- Cooking the lemon curd on low heat while whisking continuously is key to making a smooth curd. Even though the curd will be strained, this technique minimizes the chance of coagulated eggs in your filling.
- Fresh lemon juice is truly the only way to go to make the absolute best tasting lemon bars. One lemon usually yields about 2-3 tablespoons of juice so you will likely need about 5-6 lemons for this recipe.
- The lemon juice could be swapped out with other citrus juice to make various citrus bar flavors!
MORE RECIPES FROM BAKER BETTIE!
If you loved this delicious recipe, you might like to try these other lemon recipes!
How to Make the BEST Lemon Bars
This recipe makes the absolute best lemon bars! A buttery shortbread crust is matched with real lemon curd filling creating lemon bars that are bright and tart with the perfect flavor contrast of crust and filling.
Ingredients
For the Shortbread Crust
- 113 grams (4 ounces, 1 stick) unsalted butter, room temperature
- 67 grams (⅓ cup) granulated sugar
- ½ teaspoon vanilla extract
- pinch of salt
- 120 grams (1 cup) all-purpose flour *see note for gluten free substitution
For the Lemon Curd Filling
- 4 large eggs
- 4 large egg yolks
- 200 grams (1 cup) granulated sugar
- 240 grams (1 cup, 240 milliliters) fresh lemon juice (from about 5-6 lemons)
- 1 tablespoon lemon zest
- pinch of salt
- powdered sugar, for dusting if desired
Instructions
PREP:
- At least 30 minutes before baking, set the butter out at room temperature to soften. Measure out the rest of the ingredients.
- Preheat the oven to 350°F/175°C. Line an 8x8 inch (20x20 cm) or 9x9 inch (23x23 cm) square baking dish with parchment paper and set aside.
MAKE THE CRUST:
- In a large mixing bowl with a hand mixer or in the bowl of a stand mixer, combine the room temperature butter (113 grams/ 4 ounces), granulated sugar (67 grams/ ⅓ cup), vanilla extract (½ teaspoon), salt (one pinch), and flour (120 grams/ 1 cup) until it becomes very crumbly.
- Pour the crumbs into the prepared pan and use damp fingers to press the dough evenly into the pan. Use a fork to dock the dough all over. Bake for 20-22 minutes until the edges of the crust begin to brown.
MAKE THE FILLING:
- While the crust is baking, prepare the lemon curd. Add the whole eggs (4 large), egg yolks (4 large), granulated sugar (200 grams/ 1 cup), fresh lemon juice (240 grams/ 1 cup), lemon zest (1 tablespoon), and salt (one pinch) into a medium saucepan and whisk together.
- Heat over low heat, whisking continuously until the mixture bubbles and thickens.
- Pour the lemon curd through a fine mesh sieve over the par-baked crust. Loosely tent a piece of foil over the pan, making sure it is not touching the curd. This will create a steamy environment for the bars resulting in a very smooth and shiny top.
Bake and Serve:
- Bake for 15 minutes.
- Remove the piece of foil and allow the bars to cool to room temperature. Chill in the refrigerator for at least 1 hour before serving.
- These lemon bars are very tart and thick, therefore cutting them into 16 pieces is the perfect size. Dust squares with powdered sugar before serving, if desired.
- Store leftover lemon bars covered in the refrigerator for up to 3 days.
Notes
Gluten Free Lemon Bars: Swap the all-purpose flour with a gluten free flour blend such as Bob's Red Mill Gluten Free 1-1 Baking Flour or another brand of gluten free flour blend.
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13 Comments on “How to Make the BEST Lemon Bars”
I want to make these this weekend! We have so many lemons on our tree. But they are Meyer lemons. Would you use less sugar in the lemon curd if using Meyers?
Oh awesome! Yes if you want them to be pretty tart still, you could start with 1/2 cup of sugar and taste it and then add more if it isn’t enough. You could also add a little more zest to up the tart factor! Let me know how they go!
My first ever lemon bars and they were a hit. I was leary to do the bars but followed the instructions which were very clear! Next time I do this I will make the curd a little bit thicker and cook the bars a little bit longer as they were a bit sticky on top. Sticky enough that the powdered sugar disappeared into the curd. Everyone enjoyed them and I was asked for the recipe and will share it. Thank you!
Yes, this is definitely a soft lemon bar since I do not use cornstarch or flour to set the curd. This keeps the lemon flavor bright and un-muddied. But a little longer cooking can definitely help to set them! Did you wait to put the powdered sugar on until after they were set? So glad you enjoyed them Pam! Thanks for the feedback!
These are divine, a definite crowd-pleaser! I followed Baker Bettie’s advice for using Meyer lemons – I only needed half the sugar since the Meyers are so sweet. This is an easy recipe that gives the illusion of being “a lot of work” if you need to impress someone 😉
That’s so great to hear Kelsey! Thanks for the feedback!
This is the first Baker Bettie recipe that wasn’t that great for me. They look nice, but they taste way too eggy! (and I like eggs)
Hi there, I’m so sorry to hear that you found this to taste too eggy. Any custard is going to taste quite eggy before it is chilled. Did it still taste eggy once it was chilled? If so, I’m wondering it the custard got too hot during cooking.
Thanks so much for your comment, Bettie! Yes, they looked beautiful…and I didn’t try them till they had been in the fridge overnight. Then I got to thinking…my chickens lay HUGE egg yolks. I really had not thought about this until I bought store bought white eggs to color for Easter eggs.
I am trying it again with 2 of my chicken girls egg yolks. They are in the oven as we speak. I had to try it again because these looked so delish! I’ll keep you posted.
I remade these after the eggy incident and was going to leave a picture, but they are GONE! OMG, heavenly. (And I even made them using Sugar 2.0) Thanks, Bettie!
I’m so so glad to hear it was better second time around! That’s so great!
Hello! I made these lemon bars and they are fantastic! They were tart and delicious. I’ve never made lemon curd before and your instructions were very easy to follow.
Awesome! Glad you liked them!