Lemon Sqaures

Normally, I am not a huge fan of lemon flavored things, but I have been a lover of lemon squares for as long as I can remember. However, I have never had them from scratch, my mom always went the boxed route. So, the other night I got the desire to bake something and as it turned out, lemon squares were the perfect choice for two reasons: 1) I already had all the ingredients in my kitchen and 2) I would be seeing my Jackie the next day and if anyone loves lemony treats, it's Jackie...

Speaking of Jackie...she alerted me the other day that she has a recipe to put up on my blog. So keep an eye out as she will be my first official guest blogger.

Now onto the luscious lemon squares....

Ingredients:

1 3/4 cups all-purpose flour, divided
1 1/2 cup white sugar, divided
3/4 teaspoon salt, divided
1/2 cup cold butter, cubed
4 eggs
Zest and juice of 2 lemons, separated
powdered sugar

Directions:

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. In a bowl, combine 1 1/2 cups flour, 1/4 cup white sugar, and 1/4 teaspoon of salt.

2. Add the cubed butter to the flour and using your hands, combine the butter with the flour until you’re left with a crumbly mixture.



3. Press this mixture into a 9×13 pan lined with foil and sprayed with cooking spray.



4. Bake the crust for 15-20 minutes or until just turning golden on the edges.

Meanwhile...

5. In a new bowl, combine the zest of 2 lemons and 1 1/4 cups of white sugar and rub them together until the zest is incorporated into the sugar.

6. Whisk or beat in the eggs and add the lemon juice. Add 1/4 cup of flour and 1/2 teaspoon of salt and whisk them in.


Once the crust has finished baking...

6. Pour the lemon filling over the hot crust and bake for 20-25 minutes or until the top is set and doesn’t wiggle.


7. Remove the lemon bars from the oven and allow to cool COMPLETELY before sprinkling with powdered sugar and cutting.

These were absolutely delicious!! And I kind of wish I had one right now.

P.S. Did you notice that picture taking skills have improved? Well, not entirely. More like my photo touch-up skills have improved, especially for the pictures of the final product....mmmm, i'm salivating...