Think Spring - Lemon Bars

The girls on the Maine Nest board got together at my house a few weeks ago to have an indoor picnic in the dead of January. (*Side note- Is it bad I refer to us as girls when we are in fact a group of strong, educated, accomplished women? Maybe, but now you know the truth, so I can move on.)

My oh my, what a spread we had! Muffaletta, ice cream sandwich cake, watermelon, very fancy cut pineapple, brownies, soup, wonderfully bad for you munchies, crusted chicken tenders, mini pinwheel sandwiches, iced tea- the works! We camped out on the floor with some blooms surrounding us and had a fun afternoon.

Amongst a couple of other things, my big contribution (besides hosting) was lemon squares. They were just about perfect in my book. They were tangy, but not too sour or sweet. The lemon goo stuff set up perfectly- not too runny or hard. The crust was tender and flavorful. The only complaint was that there was not a distinction between the lemon topping and the crust- they kind of blended together. Maybe my crust needed to cool more.

By the end of the weekend though, with my parents up for a visit, they were pretty much wiped out. So I guess they tasted just fine!


Lemon Bars
From AllRecipes.com
Crust

• 1 C. Salted Butter, softened
  
• 1/2 C. White Sugar
  
• 2 C. Flour

Custard

• 1 1/2 C. White Sugar
  
• 4 Tbsp. Flour
  
• 3 Eggs
  
• 1/2 C. Fresh Lemon Juice
  
• Zest of 1 Lemon
  
• Confectioner Sugar for dusting (optional)

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
   
2. In a medium bowl or stand mixer, blend together all the crust ingredients.
   
3. Press crust dough into a 9" x 13" oven safe pan. Bake for about 20 minutes until golden and firm.
   
4. Remove crust from oven and let it cool completely.
   
5. While the crust bakes, mix together the sugar and flour for the custard, again in a medium bowl or stand mixer.
   
6. Beat in the eggs, lemon juice, and lemon zest until smooth.
   
7. Pour the lemon custard mixture on top of the cooled crust. Bake in the (still hot) oven for 20 minutes.
   
8. Let the bars cool before cutting. When cooled off, cut the bars into small squares or rectangles. Using a sifter or a fine mesh strainer, tap a thin layer of confectioner sugar on the top of each bar for a nice presentation and extra sweetness.