Best Tangy Lemon Bar Recipe

Square image of three stacked Lemon Bar Recipe.

This lemon bar recipe is an easy and tasty treat bursting with citrus flavor. It is a family staple and a party hit, and it is a bar recipe that you will want to make over and over.

Course Baked Good, Dessert

Cuisine American

Keyword Lemon Bar Recipe, lemon bars

Prep Time 15

Cook Time 52

Chill Time: 4

Servings servings

Calories 326kcal

Author Dana DeVolk

Ingredients

For the crust:

2 cups all-purpose flour
1 cup unsalted butter softened
½ cup powdered sugar plus more for dusting
¼ teaspoon fine sea salt

For the filling:

2 cups granulated sugar
6 tablespoons all-purpose flour
6 large eggs room temperature
Zest of 2 lemons
⅔ cup lemon juice fresh squeezed

Instructions

Preheat the oven to 325°F. Line a 9x13 baking dish with parchment paper, set aside.
In a large bowl, add the flour, butter, powdered sugar, and salt, mix until combined.
2 cups all-purpose flour, 1 cup unsalted butter, ½ cup powdered sugar, ¼ teaspoon fine sea salt
Press the crust into the prepared baking dish and bake for 22-24 minutes until the very edges are very slightly golden brown.
Take the crust out of the oven and with a fork, poke holes all over, but don’t go all the way through the crust. Set aside while you make the filling.
Place the granulated sugar and flour in a large bowl, whisk to combine.
2 cups granulated sugar, 6 tablespoons all-purpose flour
Add the eggs and lemon zest, whisk to combine.
6 large eggs, Zest of 2 lemons
Add the lemon juice and whisk to combine.
⅔ cup lemon juice
Pour the filling on top of the crust. Bake for 25-28 minutes until the bars are set, there should be a slight jiggle right in the center but not much.
Let cool on the counter until room temperature, place in the fridge, and chill for 4 hours or overnight.
Take the bars out using the parchment paper to help, dust generously with powdered sugar and cut into bars, serve immediately.

Notes

This recipe can be halved and made in a 9×9-inch pan.
Wipe your knife between cuts so you get a pretty presentation with nice, neat squares.
You can use any freshly squeezed citrus juice for these bars to mix up the flavors, or a combo!
Use only fresh lemon juice with this lemon dessert recipe.
Topping with powdered sugar is optional but highly recommended.
These can be frozen, see my tips above.
Air bubbles may rise to the top of the bars while baking, this is completely normal from mixing the eggs with the other ingredients for the filling. This doesn’t affect the taste or texture of the bars at all.
Do not forget that these need to set up for at least 4 hours.

Nutrition