Lemon is a great flavor, it is fresh, crisp, cool and cleanses the palate in an excellent manner. Lime is great too, but lemon is far more versatile, and seems to go with just about most meals in a complimentary dessert form. I love a good punch of lemon, sweetened into a seductive melody for the mouth, and what I'm about to share with you is The Perfect Lemon Bar recipe. You can also use it to make tartlets or in ramekins, but that involves more work than I was willing to put forth on this past work night. If you prefer a milder version, use the juice and zest of one lemon instead of two. But for someone like me, I wouldn't make it any other way since I'm really looking for that delightful lemon flavor!
This recipe will produce a variable amount of squares or bars...depending on how you want to cut them. You'll need a 9 X 9 sized pan (I use a glass one).
Preheat your oven to 350 degrees.
In the 9 X 9 pan itself, mix together:
1 C flour
1/2 C butter, margarine (I use light margarine), softened
1/4 C powdered sugar
Use a larger fork to mix evenly
When the lumps are small and fine, press this mixture evenly onto the bottom of the pan, and one inch up the sides.
Bake the crust for 20 minutes.
Remove and cool for a half an hour, longer is fine.
In a large mixing bowl, combine:
2 eggs, beaten
1 C sugar
2 T flour
1/2 tsp. baking powder
The juice of 2 lemons
The grated rind of 2 lemons*
Use a hand mixer and really give these ingredients a good beating for about 2 minutes.
Next, pour this mixture into the baked crust, and place into the oven at 350 for 25 minutes.
The top should look ever so slightly golden brown, and the filling should not still be fluid and rolling around in the pan.
Set aside to cool, and sprinkle powdered sugar on the top (not in a layer) while it is still very warm (you can do this later, but it will move around on you more when you slice it).
(Mmmm. Aren't you sold by this picture?!?)
*Use a fine grater for the lemon skins, and grate only the yellow part of the rind part off.
Keep in mind, please, that I made this recipe using small-to-medium sized lemons, I know that in certain (lucky) parts of the country, you can acquire nice big ones, but using two of them might throw off the recipe.
This is such a fine summer dessert too, however, I have a word of amusing caution...this has happened to both my husband and I...though you may be tempted to take bite after bite of this sumptuous treat, please remember not to inhale while you are biting into your lemon bar. If you do, the powdered sugar may (without any warning!) fly to the back of your throat making you cough embarrassingly while everyone else just looks at you as if you were orange or something.
With that note of caution out there, I'm sticking by my claim that these are the very best lemon bars ever created, and I whole-heartedly invite you to make them yourself and tell me about it.
Enjoy!
