Friday, January 28, 2011

Lemon Bars

Today I accomplished something I consider amazing .  With my daughter playing in another room, I managed to bake with no other adults in the house for the very first time since she was born nearly 11 months ago.  Of course, this Betty Crocker recipe is one of the most simple baking recipes I've ever seen, but still.  I kept one eye on her and one eye on my lemon custard, she kept herself entertained, and when she went down for her afternoon nap I was able to relax with an extremely tasty lemon bar.  Please note that the recipe calls for a dusting of powdered sugar, and not the avalanche I gave it.

Ingredients:
1 c. all purpose flour (minus 1 T.)
1/2 c. butter, softened (do not substitute margarine)
1/4 c. powdered sugar
1 c. granulated sugar
1 T. grated lemon peel
2 T. fresh lemon juice
1/2 t. baking powder
1/4 t. salt
2 large eggs
extra powdered sugar for dusting

How:
Preheat your oven to 350 degrees.  Mix flour, butter and 1/4 c. powdered sugar.  It will be very un-dough-like, do not worry.  Press it into an ungreased 8x8 pan, with a 1/4 inch edge on each side.

Bake for 20 minutes then remove from oven.

While the crust is in the oven, beat the remaining ingredients (except for the extra powdered sugar) with an electric mixer on high speed about 3 minutes, until light an fluffy.  Pour over hot crust.

Bake 25 to 30 minutes or until no indentation remains when touched lightly in center.  Cool in pan on a wire rack.  Dust with powdered sugar.

Cut into pieces and savor while your kid is sleeping.

*When I took this out of the oven, I was really concerned.  I'd never made lemon bars before and when they came out, the top was a thin brown crust.  They tasted exactly right, so no worries if this happens to you as well.  Also, it's just my opinion, but the lemon filling might be the best I've ever had.

~Recipe adapted from Betty Crocker's Cookbook, Bridal Edition
Print Page

8 comments:

  1. Lemon is one of my indispensible ingredients but somehow I've never made lemon bars before -but these look right up my street. I shall borrow my littlest niece for the weekend so that I can experience that sense of luxury that comes from rare moments of quiet time and enjoy one or three of these gorgeous bars with a cuppa!

    ReplyDelete
  2. These look wonderful! I love recipes like this that use grated lemon peel, not just lemon juice.

    ReplyDelete
  3. That looks beautiful! I'm so glad you were able to bake with your little one entertaining herself! If really gives you a sense of pride when they reach that stage! Enjoy it, soon she'll be running all over and trying to "help" you cook! ;-)

    ReplyDelete
  4. @ Dulce - The original recipe called for less lemon zest and then said that is was optional! I couldn't believe it. There is no maybe in my head when it comes to adding zest or not!

    ReplyDelete
  5. Lemon bars are such a tasty treat, these ones turned out nicely! It is amazing what we can accomplish when the little ones get bigger!

    ReplyDelete
  6. I do love lemon bars. Outside of chocolate, I think they are my favorite dessert. Delicious!

    ReplyDelete
  7. Lemon bars are such a bright spot in the winter. The citrus is grand and it adds some sunshine to the day. How fun that you are slowly able to bake again - I remember those days! I loved stealing a little time to do some cooking or baking. And the lemon bars look so welcoming.

    ReplyDelete
  8. i can imagine what was going on in your mind.. superb accomplishment !! go gurl!! :)
    www.kankanasaxena.net

    ReplyDelete

LinkWithin

Related Posts Plugin for WordPress, Blogger...