lemon bars.

A while back, when fruit was still plentiful, my sister Sarah asked me to make lemon bars. I’d forgotten all about it until I was walking around the produce section at the grocery store, begging something to pop out at me. All the fruit looked so sad, tiny and shriveled, begging for summer to return. But the lemons! They were so...robust. And they were calling my name.

I was searching high and low for a good lemon bar recipe, I finally decided on this one from allrecipes.com. It’s not perfect, it’s a little too tart and a little too thin, but it worked. I’ll just be sure to add more sugar next time.


1 1/8 cups all-purpose flour
1/3 cup confectioners' sugar
1/2 cup butter, softened
2 eggs
2/3 cup confectioners' sugar
1/3 cup fresh lemon juice
1 1/2 teaspoons grated lemon zest
1/4 teaspoon baking powder
1 tablespoon confectioners' sugar



Preheat the oven to 325 degrees F (165 degrees C). In a medium bowl, mix together the flour, 1/3 cup of confectioners' sugar, and butter until butter is in very small crumbs.
Press into the bottom of a 11x7 inch pan.

Bake for 25 minutes in the preheated oven, or until firm and lightly browned. While the crust is baking, whisk together the eggs, 2/3 cup of confectioners' sugar, lemon juice and lemon zest in a medium bowl. Just before the crust is done, stir in the baking powder. Pour over the crust while it is hot, and return to the oven.

Bake for another 25 minutes in the preheated oven, until set. Dust with remaining confectioners' sugar when cool.