These lemon bars with lemon curd are sweet and tangy. They are delicious with a crunchy crust and they are so easy to make!
As lemon desserts are my favorite, it is time to share another recipe with lemon. I am sharing with you my lemon curd bars. Have you tried my lemon curd? It is tangy, silky and so delicious that I love eating it from a jar with a spoon so much.
Today I use my lemon curd in these bars. I love these lemon squares with a shortbread base and soft lemon curd. You should definitely try this recipe if you love lemon desserts.
I make some little adjustments when preparing lemon curd for these bars. Instead of cooking the lemon curd over a bain-marie, I bake it with the crust.
As my crust is buttery, I reduce the butter amount from my lemon curd recipe. I use a little bit flour-just 1 tablespoon to thicken the lemon curd.
This recipe is so easy. It takes only 5 minutes to prepare the crust. While the crust is baking, I prepare the curd. Then I pour it over the baked crust and bake for 12 minutes.
The important point is you should not over bake. After 12 minutes the lemon curd should look set but has to be still very soft. If you touch the lemon curd, your finger will make a sign there, it should be that soft.
Let’s go through the steps now and make delicious lemon bars from scratch.
How to Make Easy Lemon Bars with Step by Step Pictures:
First I make an easy and yummy crust. I mix the flour and sugar in a medium bowl and then I add the cubed butter.
I use a fork to cut the butter into the flour mixture. Instead of a fork, you can rub the butter and flour mixture with your fingertips. The mixture looks like breadcrumbs.
I place the mixture into an ovenproof dish. First I gently spread with my hand and then I use a spoon. I lightly flour the spoon so it doesn’t stick to the flour-butter mixture. I bake for almost 25 minutes until it is golden brown.
If you don’t want a crunchy crust, you can bake for 20 minutes until it slightly changes color. (Just in case you wonder: You don’t need to dock the dough-it will puff a little bit but it is ok.)
While the crust is baking, I prepare the filling. As I mentioned before, I made some little change.
I use less butter as the crust is buttery enough and use a little flour to thicken the filling. If you ask me if it is ok not to use butter in the filling, I would say some butter adds richness so I suggest you use it.
I use the same bowl for the filling that I use for the crust. First I mix the lemon zest and sugar with a fork to increase the lemon flavor. You can rub with your fingers too.
Then I add the eggs and whisk for almost 30 seconds until combined well. Later I add the cooled melted butter, fresh lemon juice and mix well. Finally, I add the flour and mix until combined well.
I take the crust from the oven after 25 minutes or until golden brown. If you want a soft crust you can bake for 20 minutes or until lightly it changes the color.
Then I add the filling on top and bake for almost 12 minutes until it is set but still soft. I take the dish from the oven and let it cool at room temperature for almost 1,5 hours. When it is cool, I lift the paper from the sides.
I cut into 16 squares.
Then I dust powdered sugar and start eating these delicious bars. 🙂
Enjoy!
Lemon Bars with Lemon Curd
Ingredients
Crust
- 175 grams ( 1 cup and ¼ cup) all-purpose flour, dip and sweep
- 95 grams (½ cup minus 2 teaspoons) granulated sugar
- 115 grams (½ cup) unsalted butter, cut into cubes, room temperature
Lemon Filling
- 3 large eggs, room temperature
- 120 grams (½ cup and 1 tablespoon) granulated sugar
- 80 ml/grams (⅓ cup) lemon juice
- 4 grams (2 teaspoons) lemon zest
- 30 grams (2 tablespoons) unsalted butter, melted and cooled
- 10 grams (1 tablespoon) all-purpose flour
- Powdered sugar for coating the bars
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350°F(177C°). Grease 8 inch (20cm) square oven-proof dish and line the bottom and sides with parchment paper, about 2 inches(5 cm) of overhang on each side.
- Crust: Mix the flour and sugar in a medium bowl. Add in the cubed butters and cut butter into flour mixture with a fork. Alternatively, you can rub the butter and flour mixture with your fingertips. The mixture will look like breadcrumbs.
- Spread the mixture into the oven proof dish with your hand. You can use the back of a spoon to spread it evenly. You should lightly flour the spoon to avoid it sticking to the flour-butter mixture. Bake for almost 25-28 minutes until it is golden brown. For a soft crust: Bake for 20-23 minutes or until it lightly changes color.
- Filling: Mix the lemon zest and sugar in a bowl with a fork or rub with your fingertips to increase the lemon flavor. Add in the eggs and whisk for almost 30 seconds or until combined well. Then add the cooled melted butter, lemon juice and mix. Add the flour and mix until incorporated.
- After 25 minutes (or almost 20 minutes for a soft crust), remove the dish from the oven and add the filling. Bake for 12-15 minutes until the filling is set but still soft. Remove the dish from the oven and let it cool at room temperature for almost 1,5 hours. When it is cool enough, lift the paper from the sides. Cut into 9 or 16 squares. Dust with powdered sugar.
Elizabeth
Oh wow, these sound lovely! Sweet and tart at the same time. Yum!
Sam
Absolutely beautiful to eat,such an easy recipe to follow, definitely making them again
Meymi
Hi Sam, I’m thrilled to hear you love this recipe so much! Thank you for your comment!
Brandy
How would I adjust the recipe if I wanted to use a 9×13 baking dish instead of a 8×8?
Meymi
Hi Brandy, You can double the recipe.
Sarah
I adore Lemon Bars! However, I’ve never made them myself! I’ll have to give this a try!
Meymi
Thank you! I’m sure you will love these tangy and sweet bars.
Jess
Do these need to be refrigerated?
Meymi
Hi Jess, Yes. You can keep them in the fridge for up to a week.
Helene
The close up layers just conviced me that I need your lemon bars!! I am usualy not the one with the sweet tooth but these really look very tempting and so very moist too.
Meymi
Thank you! They are tart and sweet. I hope you make these bars and enjoy!
Sam | Ahead of Thyme
Yum! These lemon bars look delicious! I can’t wait to try this!
The Food Hunter
My husband is going to love these
Kim
I came across your site and found these delicious dessert recipes. I have a medical issue and have to be on a low sodium lifestyle. it’s hard to find desserts that don’t have to put salt in the recipe. I made this and this came out amazing.
Meymi
Yay! I am so happy you found my site and liked these bars! I hope you enjoy my other recipes as well that may fit your diet. Thank you so much for your comment, Kim!
Barbara
12 min for curd to set? It’s still soupy. Trying for 10 more minutes. What did I do wrong?
Meymi
Hi Barbara! Baking time may differ from oven to oven. If you didn’t change anything in the recipe and used all the ingredients, there can’t be anything wrong. I would bake for extra 3-4 minutes and then bake for extra 4-5 minutes if needed. It will be very soft. I hope it turned out well. I would be glad if you could share your feedback.
Barbara
Mine was soupy after 12 minutes too. Maybe it’s a Barbara thing. 😉 I baked them for another 8 minutes and that was a bit too long. Surprised at how quickly they firmed up! I think 5-6 extra minutes would have been sufficient.
Tay
Made this recipe today for my son-in-law who proclaims himself as a lemon bar connoisseur….lol. He couldn’t believe how good they were……he was very happy!
The crust was so easy to make, and it held up to the lemon curd. It was easy to cut and serve. I have made lemon curd before, so it was an easy recipe to follow. I will definitely make this recipe again.
Meymi
Hi Tay, I am so happy your son-in-law loved these lemon bars as much as I do.Thank you very much for your comment!
Debra
I cannot wait to try these. I too love lemon anything. We are lucky as we have a lemon tree in our backyard!
Ashley
Made these tonight for a gathering tomorrow, just took them out of the oven! They look and smell wonderful! Tomorrow after they cool, instead of powdered sugar, I’m going to make a powdered sugar and orange juice glaze to top them with! Can’t wait to try them!
Elise
First time making lemon bars! This recipe stood out because it uses half the amount of eggs as other recipes I’ve seen. They are absolutely delicious! *side note: I was really excited to finally use my scale for measuring rather than my cups measurements also 😉
Meymi
Hi Elise, I am so happy to hear that you loved these bars as much as I do and used your scale which gives accurate results! Thank you for your comment!
debbie E
I didn’t see where you put the lemon curd or how much to use
Meymi
Hi Debbie, It is the lemon filling. As I mentioned in my post, I bake the lemon curd filling with the crust instead of cooking it over a bain-marie which makes this recipe very easy. I hope you enjoy these bars!
debbie
I’m still not seeing any lemon curd in the recipe?
Meymi
I don’t use lemon curd from a jar. The ingredients of lemon filling that you are seeing in the recipe card are lemon curd ingredients. The only difference is I use flour to thicken the filling.
Vanessa
About how much curd do we need? I have left over from a recipe i made and wanted to make these bars…
Meymi
Hi Vanessa, I make a filling and bake it with the crust. The filling turns to lemon curd as it bakes. I don’t use lemon curd from a jar.
Jane
Can you use prepared lemon curd and if so how much?
Meymi
Hi Jane, I didn’t try with prepared lemon curd so I’m not sure if it works.
Daniela
Absolutely Delicious!!!
Meymi
Hi Daniela, I am so glad you loved these bars! Thank you for your comment!
Jodi
I’m allergic to eggs so made this recipe using plant based egg substitute (3 Tbs per egg in recipe). Worked well with one minor difference: cooking the filling took much longer than the recipe. Instead of 12-15 minutes, it needed 30 minutes. But otherwise was great.
Darlene Heaysman
Nothing more to say than YUM!
Meymi
Hi Darlene, I’m thrilled to hear you loved this recipe so much! Thank you for your comment!
Lelia Richardson
Great and easy to follow recipe! The crust is a perfect balance to the lemon curd!
Can these stay out overnight?
Meymi
Hi Lelia, I’m so glad you enjoyed this recipe! You should keep them in the fridge. Thank you for your comment!
Jo
Can you freeze the bars???
Has anyone tried?
Meymi
Hi Jo, You can freeze these bars for up to 3 months.