Lemon bars: shortbread crust topped with tangy lemon cream | Knowledge of daily life

Mix sweet and tart with delicious

Lemon is sour. But it can be sweet. And tasty. It’s the stealth ingredient that lights up others but you don’t always see or detect. Zested in a marinade, squirted into a sauce, squeezed into a soup, lemon is the hero ingredient that is too often overlooked.

But he’s not just the ultimate support player; the lemon really shines in a starring role. So let’s talk about lemon bars. I made it for the first time recently, using a recipe from what has become one of my baking bibles: “Jim Fobel’s Old-Fashioned Baking Book,” published by Lake Isle Press.

It wasn’t just my first time making lemon bars, it might have been my first time tasting one as well. (Lemon bars may be commonplace, but believe me, the list of dishes and ingredients that I have never tried, although getting shorter, it’s alarmingly short.) However, since this recipe calls for lemon, sugar, and eggs on a shortbread crust, it stands to reason that I wouldn’t hate it.

Before I came across this recipe, I had two must-have lemon dessert recipes: Lemon Cake and Lemon Custard Cookies. Both are delicious, but they take a bit of time to cook, especially the cookies. Here is some lemony goodness that is very easily accomplished. You don’t even need to soften the butter ahead of time. So, I now have the third lemon dessert recipe.

I’m what you might call an emerging baker, so mini-challenges often arise when I try a new recipe. This may be the fourth time I’ve cut cold butter into a dough, and the second time I’ve used a dough mixer instead of two forks to do so. I wasn’t sure I got the right batter consistency. (Should I cut more butter? Work the dough more with my hands?) I made the call that it held together and shouldn’t be overdone, then pressed the dough into the pan and I put it in the oven. Then I put the eggs in the bowl of my stand mixer, added the sugar, then the lemon and set to high speed. The mixture spurted out like a tiny geyser. I placed the pouring shield over the bowl, then put a tea towel over it. But the recipe calls for the curd to mix for 10 minutes, so a lot of the lemon curd found its way to that napkin. Maybe I should also have reduced the speed a notch? The next time.

Although my trial was not smooth, it didn’t matter. My lemon bars were delicious: slightly sweet, not at all sweet, with a nice lemony flavor and a nice hint of chewiness. I had four tasters for this batch – all of whom received their treats at least a day or two after they were baked – and all gave them a thumbs up. I froze then thawed two pieces to see how they would hold up to freezing. No problem.

I cut my batch into rectangles rather than squares; they’re more fun to eat that way. But next time I might try them as small canapes – and I already have two next times in mind. I may be late to jump on the lemon bar bandwagon, but I totally agree.

The more I cook, the more I appreciate lemon. Fresh, juicy and fragrant, there is poetry in it. Pablo Neruda invokes the lemon “a ray of light that has become a fruit” and pours out its juice as “a yellow cup full of miracles”. Most of the time, we overlook the simple beauty of these everyday things. Then we taste a lemon bar, and for a flash, we are transported.

Give 12
Click here to print the recipe.

INGREDIENTS

1 cup plus 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
¼ cup plus 1 tablespoon icing sugar
8 tablespoons (1 stick) cold unsalted butter, sliced
2 large eggs
¾ cup granulated sugar
½ teaspoon grated lemon zest
¼ cup fresh lemon juice
¼ teaspoon baking powder
Pinch of salt

PREPARATION

1. Place a rack in the center of the oven and preheat to 350°F. In a medium bowl, combine 1 cup flour and ¼ cup icing sugar. Cut in the butter until it resembles coarse flour, then work it in with your fingertips until the dough holds together. Press evenly into bottom of ungreased 8-inch square pan. Bake for about 15 minutes, until lightly golden. Remove, but leave the oven on.

2. Meanwhile, in a medium bowl, using an electric mixer, beat the eggs until frothy. Gradually add the granulated sugar. Add lemon zest and lemon juice; beat on high speed for 10 minutes, until smooth and slightly thickened.

3. On a sheet of waxed paper, mix the remaining 2 tablespoons of flour with the baking powder and salt; gradually add to egg mixture, beating until smooth. Pour over the cooked layer and bake for about 20 minutes more, until set and lightly browned. Cool in pan on wire rack. Sift the remaining tablespoon of icing sugar over the top and cut into 12 bars.

Recipe from “JIM FOBEL’S OLD-FASHIONED BAKING BOOK” by Jim Fobel, Lake Isle Press, 1996

Originally posted on https://www.lakeislepress.com on March 24, 2022.