BY CASSANDRA HAMMERSTONE
August 2023
The sweet and tart combination of lemon in desserts is alluring, and calls to me especially during Summer. Lemon bars are a classic way to use a bounty of bright and vibrant citrus, but they can be a little daunting. The crust has to be just right. You want a strong and dependable shortbread crust that’s at the same time tender, buttery and flaky. The filling is essentially a lemon curd and the primary ingredient is eggs, which presents another set of obstacles: Mix it incorrectly, and you get a strange set of layers. Underbake it, and it’s runny and gummy. Overbake it, and you have scrambled eggs.
I spent quite a bit of time trying to tackle all of these common problems and create the perfect lemon bar recipe. I have made a lot of lemon bars. I get concerned looks at the grocery store when I head for the citrus. And what I finally came to is this: The perfect lemon bar already exists if you combine recipes from two icons: Martha Stewart and Ina Garten.
Ina’s recipe has the perfect crust. The raw dough is creamy, not sandy, so it presses easily and finishes as a sturdy, but still moist and buttery shortbread.
Martha’s lemon filling is genius. Instead of setting the eggs with flour and sugar, she swaps in sweetened condensed milk, which sets up easily and is so forgiving. The result is a luscious, sweet and tart spin on lemon curd that you can trust every single time.
So yes, this is absolutely an adaptation – a modern mash up of both of these ideal recipes. Along with a few of my own additions – like lemon zest and almond extract– I believe you’ll find this to be the lemon bar recipe you’ve always wanted.
Let’s start by making the crust. Cream the butter and the sugar in a stand mixer or with a hand mixer. After a couple of minutes, it should be pale yellow and fluffy. At the last minute, give it another quick mix to incorporate the almond extract.
Slowly add in the flour until the dough begins to come together. You’re not using a traditional cut-in method here, so unlike other shortbread style crusts, this will be moist, not sandy or full of pebbles, and will easily hold together. I’m using salted butter, as I always do when I bake. If you prefer to use unsalted butter, throw in a pinch of salt with the flour.
Prepare a 9x13 inch baking pan by lining it with parchment paper. I’ve overlaid two sheets of parchment for the length and the width, which also creates a bit of a seal at the corners. I’m not pressing the dough up the sides, so the parchment will be responsible for holding in the filling later in the recipe. Bake the dough for 15 to 20 minutes at 350 degrees, or until it begins to brown at the edges but is still pale over the surface.
I’ve added my own touches, like the lemon zest in the filling, because I love those bright dots of color and the punchy citrus flavor… And the almond in the crust. It’s a subtle addition that reminds me of my favorite Italian lemon cookies.
While the crust bakes, prepare the filling. Separate eight eggs… we’re just going to use the yolks. Zest about six lemons to get two tablespoons of zest, then squeeze the lemons you zested, plus about six more to get about a cup and a half of lemon juice.
Beat the eggs until they are light and fluffy, then add in the sweetened condensed milk. Mix in the zest, lemon juice and salt.
Poor the filling over the top of the crust and bake it for 25 minutes at 350 degrees, or until the edges begin to turn brown and the filling is set. You’ll need them to cool completely in the refrigerator for at least three hours before you remove them from the pan or cut them.
It should be easy to wiggle them out of the pan once they are cooled. Just lift the parchment paper and they will release easily. Cut them into squares and serve. You can sift a bit of confectioner’s sugar over the top if you like… I love the bright yellow color, and they’re very sweet, so I tend to leave them as they are.
I invite you to look through the original recipes from Martha Stewart and Ina Garten to see where this adapted recipe got its origins. You’ll see that I’ve added my own touches, like the lemon zest in the filling because I love those bright dots of color and the bright citrus flavor… And the almond in the crust. It’s a subtle addition that reminds me of my favorite Italian lemon cookies.
The Perfect Lemon Bars
Adapted from Martha Stewart and Ina Garten
Season: Anytime
Serves: 12
Ingredients
2 cups all purpose flour
1 cup softened salted butter, or two sticks
½ cup white sugar
1 ½ tsp almond extract
8 egg yolks
28 oz sweetened condensed milk, or two 14 oz cans
1 ½ cups lemon juice, about a dozen lemons
2 tbsp of lemon zest
¼ tsp salt
PREPARATION
For the crust, cream the butter and the sugar in a stand mixer or with a hand mixer. Once it’s light and fluffy, mix in the almond extract and incorporate the flour a little at a time until it begins to come together as a dough.
Prepare a 9x13 baking dish by lining it with parchment paper so that the parchment comes up all four sides. Press the dough evenly into the bottom of the pan, making sure that the edges are completely covered.
Bake the crust for 15 to 20 minutes, or until it begins to brown at the edges but remains pale on the surface.
While the crust bakes, prepare the filling. In a stand mixer or with a hand mixer, beat eight egg yolks, then slowly beat in the sweetened condensed milk. Add the lemon juice, lemon extract and salt, then and mix until fully incorporated.
Pour the filling over the crust and bake for 20 minutes, or until the edges begin to turn slightly brown and the filling is set. Refrigerate for at least two hours. Once fully cooled, lift the bars out of the baking pan using the parchment paper. Peel the parchment from the sides, slice into squares and optionally sift confectioner’s sugar over the top.
Refrigerate for up to three days.
