Best Lemon Bar Recipe,IMO here it is

[rachaelc]

Hello, I have an old recipe for lemon bars from some 35 years ago. I tweaked it a bit last year because I wanted more filling and less sugar. It definitely came out better. This year I have looked at some recipes on line but, they are still pretty much the same as mine. Filling is 2 c. sugar and 1/4 to 1/3 lemon juice. Does any one have a rocking lemon bar recipe that has lots of lemon on top and not too sweet they would like to share?
Thanks for your help and Happy Holiday baking to you all!
Rachael C -mother of all

 

[rachaelc]

Quote:
Well, from what I could find on line, it looks like the Magnolia bakery has the best recipe.

 

[TerriLaChicks]

Hey please post it if you get a chance--I have the same dilemna you did, which is why I didn't respond to your first post.

 

[rachaelc]

Lemon Bars


For the crust Makes 1/2 sheet pan

1 lb butter, room temp
1 c. powdered sugar
1/2 tsp.salt
2 tsp lemon zest
4c. flour
In mixer, cream butter and sugar w/ paddle attachment. Add salt , zest and flour. Mix only till just combined and crumbly. Spread dough into pan, going up sides, flattening as much as possible. Refridgerate dough for 1/2 hour. Bake at 350 for 20 minutes till golden.


Filling
3c. sugar 1 1/2c lemon juice
9 eggs 9 tsp. lemon zest
Whisk eggs with sugar in bowl. Add zest and juice, whisk till combined. Pour into crust and bake at 325 degrees for 25-30 minutes till custard is set.

I would think that you could half this recipe if you do not have a 1/2 sheet pan. Let me know how it goes. I'm going to give it a try tomorrow.

 

[jojo54]

How big is a 1/2 sheet pan?

 

[wildorchid053]

i am guessing like the 1/2 sheet cake pan you get from wiltons cake supplies. bigger than a 9x13.. i would guess mine is about 15x 24 or close to it. it hold 3 cake mixes in it

 

[Hens4Fun]

Another awesome Lemon Bar recipe

:

Crust:
1 3/4 cups flour
2/3 cup powdered sugar
1/4 cup cornstarch
3/4 teaspoon salt
1 1/2 sticks unsalted butter (12 tblsp) cut into 1" pieces (see my Side Note in #1)

Lemon Filling:
4 lg eggs beaten lightly
1 1/3 cups granulated sugar
3 tablespoons flour
2 teaspoons finely grated lemon zest
2/3 cup lemon juice (3-4 lg lemons) strained
1/3 cup milk
1/8 teaspoon salt

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
For the crust... lightly butter a 13x9-inch pan (for easy lifting from pan you can line it with parchment paper both directions)
Cut in butter with the powdered sugar, cornstarch and salt until it resembles coarse meal. SIDE NOTE: (If you do it by hand and not a food processor,
it's easier if you freeze the butter whole and grate it with the large holes of a box grater onto the dry ingredients).
Sprinkle mixture into pan and press firmly with fingers so it's about 1/4 inch thick all around and goes up the sides of the pan about 1/2 inch.
Refrigerate 30 minutes and then bake at 350 until golden brown...about 20 minutes.

2. For the filling... whisk eggs, granulated sugar and flour in a medium bowl; then stir in lemon juice, milk and salt and blend well.

3. Reduce the oven temperature to 325 degrees. Pour filling mixture into the warm crust. Bake until filling seems firm when lightly touched, about 20 minutes.
Rest on wire rack for 30 minutes ... if you lined your pan with parchment paper all around, you can now lift it out and cut into serving sizes.
Sprinkle with powdered sugar.

 

[DuckLady]

Quote:
A 9 x 13 pan is a 1/4 sheet, so a half sheet would be twice that or 2 of the 9 x 13's.

Or you can cut the recipe in half.

 

[rachaelc]

Quote:
Wow this looks really good in the proportions it lists. Not too much sugar. Nice amount of butter and good quantity of lemon juice. Thanks for sharing it. I am doing Holiday baking to make some extra money this month. I bake my fingers off normally this time of year. I have five Hazelnut and dried apricot coffeecake braids to bake tomorrow with 2, 2 -10 inch layer cakes.

I'll try the lemon bars thursday.
rachael C-mother of all

 

[Hens4Fun]

Yep ... I love lemon bars and this is the best proportioned recipe I've come across. Not too sweet and not too acidic. Hope you enjoy it too. Of course ... are there any bad lemon bars in the end

on some level I've liked 'em all

p.s. the dried apricot braids sound absolutely awesome