Lemon bars have been one of my favorite treats ever since I discovered a recipe for them while flipping through my mother’s Junior League Cookbook when I was a child. We had a Meyer lemon tree that more closely resembled a sprawling bush, which produced so many more lemons than we could use that we gave them away by the grocery bag-full. Plenty of lemonade was made, and many vinaigrettes and sauces, but the lemon bar remains my favorite way to enjoy this gloriously sweet tart fruit. The best part about this recipe is its simplicity: there’s no need to make the lemon curd component separately here, and the results are simply scrumptious. You get a double hit of citrus flavor from the orange zest in the crust, too. So when you’re craving a jolt of spring, these bars are just the thing. To really gild the lily, I decorate the top of each bar with a single blackberry and a sprig of mint.
For the crust:
- 3 cups all-purpose flour
- ½ cup granulated sugar
- ½ cup powdered sugar
- 2 teaspoons finely grated orange zest
- ½ teaspoon salt
- 1½ cups cold, unsalted butter, cut into cubes (3 sticks)
For the curd:
- 6 large eggs, lightly beaten
- 1½ cups granulated sugar
- 1 tablespoon finely grated Meyer lemon zest
- ½ cup freshly squeezed Meyer lemon juice (about 2 or 3 lemons)
- ¼ cup all-purpose flour
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
Preheat the oven to 325° F and lightly grease a 13 by 9-inch baking pan. In a food processor, combine the flour, granulated sugar, powdered sugar, orange zest, salt and pulse to combine. Add the butter and pulse until the dough forms well-mixed crumbles. Press the dough into the bottom of the prepared pan and bake until the crust turns golden around the edges, about 30 minutes. Meanwhile, in a large bowl, whisk together all the ingredients for the curd. When the crust is ready, remove it from the oven and increase the oven temperature to 350° F. Carefully pour the curd filling over the crust and return the pan to the oven. Bake until the curd has just set, or barely jiggles, about 20 mintues. Allow the bars to cool completely before cutting into squares. Just before serving, dust with confectioner’s sugar.
