Simple, classic, and delicious! These old fashioned lemon bars feature a buttery shortbread crust and a bright, tangy lemon curd filling.
Old-Fashioned Lemon Squares
During the warmer months of summer, I love citrus flavored desserts such as these lemon bars. This is a classic recipe and one of my favorite lemon desserts!
Lemon squares start with a buttery shortbread crust that is topped with a creamy lemon curd filling. Growing up, Granny often made shortbread. The crust of these lemons bars is reminiscent of her favorite shortbread recipe.
The lemon flavor of the lemon filling is subtly sweet and tangy, with a luscious creamy texture. When baked, it soaks into the crust just a bit to create a gradual transition from crust to filling. Lemon bars are very similar in texture to Gooey Butter Bars, except made without cream cheese. In fact, lemon bars are dairy-free!
It wasn’t too sour for my granddaughters to enjoy when we made a batch this week. The whole family loved them and I hope you do too!
Ingredients
- 1 cup butter (2 sticks, at room temperature)
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 1/2 cup powdered sugar
- 2 cups all-purpose flour + 1/4 cup
- 4 eggs, slightly beaten
- 1/4 cup fresh lemon juice (approximately two lemons)
- 2 cups granulated sugar
- Grated/zested rind of one lemon
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Instructions
To Prep: Preheat oven to 325°F and grease a 9X14 baking dish with butter, shortening, or nonstick baking spray.
- Using an electric hand mixer, blend the butter, salt, 1/2 cup powdered sugar, and 2 cups of flour.
- Press the crust mixture into your prepared pan. Bake crust at 325 degrees for about 20 minutes, until lightly browned.
- Whisk together eggs, lemon juice, sugar, 1/4 cup of flour, and lemon zest in a medium bowl. Pour on top of the crust.
- Bake for 20-25 minutes, until firm. Remove from oven and dust with powdered sugar. Allow to cool to room temperature before cutting and serving.
Prep Tips
- Yield – When cut into 1-inch squares, this recipe makes about 5 dozen pieces. (We cut them larger for our pictures to show detail better).
- Storage – Keep leftovers in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to a week.
- Crust – When you mix the shortbread it will seem very dry at first. Continue mixing and it will form little crumbs. Continue mixing until it becomes smooth.
- Always Grease the Pan – Because the crust had so much butter and my pan was nonstick, I didn’t think I needed to grease it. This made it difficult to get the lemon bars out neatly. So be sure to grease your pan with butter, shortening or a nonstick spray – even if using a non-stick pan. You could also use parchment paper.
- Lemon Juice – Two lemons worked perfectly to make 1/4 cup of lemon juice. Zest the rind of one lemon before you cut and juice it. To get more juice out of your lemons, push on them with your palm and roll on the counter.
- Powdered Sugar – I used a metal strainer to dust the powdered sugar on the lemon bars. Put about 1/4 cup powdered sugar in the strainer and shake it gently over the lemon bars until you have your desired amount.
More Lemon Recipes To Try
- Lemon Sheet Cake with Cream Cheese Frosting
- Frozen Whiskey Sours
- Lemon Lush
- 7up Jello Salad
- Christmas Gem Cookies
Old-Fashioned Lemon Bars Recipe (Printable Recipe Card)
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Old-Fashioned Lemon Squares Recipe
Equipment
- Hand mixer
- large mixing bowl
- 9X14 inch baking dish
Ingredients
Crust
- 1 cup butter 2 sticks, at room temperature
- 1/2 cup powdered sugar
- 2 cups all-purpose flour
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
Lemon filling
- 2 cups granulated sugar
- 1/4 cup lemon juice
- 1/4 cup all-purpose flour
- lemon peel zested from one lemon
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 325°F and grease 9x14" baking pan.
- Use hand mixer to blend butter, salt, 1/2 cup powdered sugar, and 2 cups of flour.
- Press crust mixture into baking dish and bake for 20 minutes at 325, until lightly browned.
- In a medium bowl, whisk together eggs, lemon juice, sugar, 1/4 cup flour, and lemon zest.
- Pour the lemon mixture on top of the crust and bake for 20 – 25 minutes, until firm.
- Remove from oven and dust with powdered sugar.
- Allow to cool before cutting and serving.
Notes
- Nutrition is for a 1-inch square serving and is an estimate.
- When you mix the shortbread it will seem very dry at first. Continue mixing and it will form little crumbs. Continue mixing until it becomes smooth.
- Because the crust had so much butter and my pan was nonstick, I didn't grease it. This made it difficult to get the lemon bars out neatly. So grease your pan with butter, shortening or a nonstick spray.
- Two lemons worked perfectly to make 1/4 cup of lemon juice. Zest the rind of one lemon before you cut and juice it. To get more juice out of your lemons, push on them with your palm and roll on the counter.
- I used a metal strainer to dust the powdered sugar on the lemon bars. Put about 1/4 cup powdered sugar in the strainer and shake it gently over the lemon bars until you have your desired amount.
- Let cool before cutting to get the best texture.
Nutrition
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