Lemon Bars

We are in a bit of a conundrum here. Our whole house remodel doesn’t start for another week. It would be a waste of time start a project, but waiting is boring. We will be staying in the motor home in the driveway while the house is being remodeled, so unpacking the rest of our stuff is out as well for now.

Granddaughter Emily has been visiting for a few days, so she and I did what we do best; shop and eat. Michael usually sleeps through breakfast, leaving me on my own most mornings. Having Emily here gave me an excuse to go out for omelets, breakfast burritos, and Quiche. Today was the last day of Emily’s visit, so we went out for breakfast at Awful Annie’s, a local legendary breakfast joint. We followed that up by shopping for ceiling fans and front doors. I bought Emily an Awful Annie’s T-shirt and all I asked in exchange was that she take a test sit on an ADA compliant toilet at Lowes for me. Would she do it? Noooooooo. So I took her home. She was a lot more useful before she became an adult.

But, this post is about lemon bars, so I will get back on track. I am still reluctant to cook a lot in this kitchen as it gives me the heebie jeebies, plus most of my kitchen things are still packed. I deep-fried cod filets last night for fish tacos and it was the scariest meal I have ever cooked. I was trying to pry up fish, stuck on the bottom of a big pot of boiling oil, with a two-foot long barbecue spatula, a technique with “visit-to-the-ER” written all over it. I managed to get by unscathed, but I won’t do that again!

I was rewarded for my valiant dinner effort by enjoying delicious lemon bars with pecan shortbread crust for dessert. Emily and I made them earlier in the day, tweaking recipes for lemon bars and shortbread into one treat.

Emily likes to stir. And Stir. And Stir. She also likes to zest, obsessing over each lemon until every last bit of peel is gone. Zesting lemons and stirring the topping kept Emily busy while I made the crust. I was going for something like the Pecan Sandies cookies I love so much, and this came pretty close. You could certainly make a regular shortbread crust, but why would you? This recipe is so much better!

Lemon Bars

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Ingredients

• For the crust:
• 8 tablespoons unsalted butter (slightly melted but still cool)
• 1/3 cup granulated sugar
• 3/4 teaspoon lemon zest
• 1/4 teaspoon kosher salt
• 1/2 teaspoon vanilla
• 1 cup all-purpose flour
• 1/2 cup finely chopped pecans
• For the topping:
• 1 cup granulated sugar
• 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
• 1/4 teaspoon kosher salt
• 2 teaspoons lemon zest
• 3 large eggs
• 1/2 cup freshly squeezed lemon juice (from 2-3 lemons)
• powdered sugar (for garnish)

Instructions

• For the crust:
• Spray an 8x8 inch glass baking pan with baking spray.
• Pre-heat oven to 325 degrees. In a medium bowl, stir the sugar, salt, lemon zest, and the vanilla together, Add the flour, (cooled) melted butter, and pecans until a crumbly dough forms.
• Press the dough evenly into the bottom of the prepared baking pan. Prick the dough with a fork all over to prevent air bubbles while baking. Refrigerate the dough for 30 minutes in the pan before baking. Bake the crust at 325 degrees until lightly golden brown, about 25 minutes.
• For the lemon topping:
• While the crust is baking, stir the sugar, flour, salt and lemon zest together. Whisk in the eggs, one at a time until smooth. Whisk in the lemon juice and refrigerate until the crust is out of the oven,
• While the crust is still hot pour the lemon topping over the top and spread evenly. Increase the oven temperature to 350 degrees, return the pan to the oven and bale until the topping is set in the center. It should not jiggle when the pan is moved. This should take 20 to 25 minutes.
• Remove pan from the oven and place on a wire cooling rack and cool until the bars are cooled completely. Refrigerate until chilled and firm enough to cut into squares or triangles. Dust the tops with powdered sugar just before serving.