Easy Lemon Bars

These classic lemon bars have a crisp shortbread crust with a burst of lemon flavor! A delicious snack, dessert or addition to a buffet table.

WE. LOVE. LEMON. We know it isn't for everyone, but it is one of our favorite flavors here at Appetizer Bliss and these homemade lemon bars are THE BEST! They have a tangy, lemony, curd filling that keeps us coming back for just one more! This easy recipe for lemon squares has about 15 minutes active time plus baking and cooling time.

Jump to:

• Ingredients
• How to Make Easy Lemon Bars
• Some Interesting Lemon Bar Info
• Equipment We Used
• Substitutions
• How to Cut Lemon Bars
• Make Ahead Tips and Storing Lemon Bars
• How to Freeze Lemon Bars
• Other Favorite Sweet Bites
• Some Common FAQ's
• 📖 Recipe
• 💬 Comments & Reviews

Ingredients

These are so easy to make with just a few basic ingredients; flour, sugar, eggs, butter, and lemons. Let's talk LEMONS!

Fresh vs. Bottled Lemon Juice

This lemon bar recipe calls for both lemon juice and lemon zest. While they can be made without the zest it adds so much to the flavor we don't recommend skipping it. We have tried them with fresh lemon juice and bottled (real) lemon juice from the store. Using fresh lemons in this recipe are hands down better than using purchased bottled juice. Fresh squeezed lemon juice has a brighter, more lemony flavor and is frequently less bitter. PLUS - if we are juicing our own lemon, we might as well add the zest!

How Much Juice is in One Lemon

That's a great question! The answer is . . . it depends! The type of lemon, the size of the lemon, how ripe the lemon is will all make a difference in how much juice you can extract from the lemon. We find there is somewhere between 2-4 Tablespoons of juice in a lemon. We always err by buying at least one more lemon than we think we need.

PRO TIP: If we end up not using our lemons in a timely manner, we will zest them, juice them, and freeze the zest and juice in separate airtight containers.

How to Make Easy Lemon Bars

• Make the crust.
  • Mix flour, sugar, and melted butter together.
  • Scrape mixed crust out of bowl, spread in parchment lined baking pan, and press down pan to form crust.
  • Bake.

Some Interesting Lemon Bar Info

While most people considered lemon bars part of the cookie family, they don't rise like cookies. Some recipes will use a leavening agent in the recipe to get a small rise in the lemon filling, but we don't think it is needed. We want a creamy, lemony filling that stands on its own with the shortbread crust. No rise necessary!

Sometimes our lemon bars will release air bubbles as they bake. You can see the result on the baked photo above. This is air escaping from the lemon filling, usually from the eggs and mixing. We don't mind these bubbles since 1) they don't affect the texture or flavor and 2) we will be sprinkling powdered sugar over the top before serving. While we have never been able to remove them completely, they can be reduced by mixing the egg and lemon mixture by hand with a whisk or spatula. Sometimes, gently tapping the pan on the counter, after you pour the lemon mixture on the hot crust, will reduce the air bubbles.

Equipment We Used

We only use a few special items in making these delicious lemon bars. The first is a hand mixer to mix the lemon filling. This can also be done with a whisk, but we are #lazy and the mixer is so much easier and faster! If you don't want so many air bubbles releasing during baking, use a hand whisk.

The second item is parchment paper. We definitely recommend parchment paper! It makes it easy to lift the lemon bars from the pan for cutting. For this recipe we cut two strips of parchment and lay them in the baking pan, one going each direction, to cover the bottom and sides.  You can also place a full sheet of parchment into the pan, tuck the corners, and then press the tuck flat against the sides so the entire pan is covered. PLEASE use parchment paper, it will save you a lot of stress and hassle when getting the lemon bars out of the pan.

Substitutions

While we are advocates of using fresh squeezed lemon juice, these can be made with store bought bottled lemon juice. Not a huge lemon fan like we are? Substitute limes for the lemons.

How to Cut Lemon Bars

Make sure the lemon bars are completely cooled, otherwise, the curd filling will just stick to the knife and make them hard to cut. We cool our lemon bars on the counter for about an hour and then refrigerate them at least 4 hours. Remove the lemon bars from the pan by pulling up on the parchment paper and place them on a cutting board.

We like serving these as small 1-2 bite sized treats. Cut them whatever size works best for your purpose. Using a sharp knife and wiping the knife on a warm damp towel between each cut.

• Cut the 8 x 8 square into 4 equal strips, 2 inches wide.  
• Rotate 90 degrees and cut the other direction into 4 equal strips (2 inches wide). You should now have 16 - 2 inch x 2 inch squares. These can be served as a large lemon bar at this point or keep cutting!
  • Cut each of the 16 squares into quarters for a 1 inch x 1 inch bite. Total: 64 square bites
    OR
  • Cut each of the 16 squares in half diagonally. Total: 32 mini triangle bites

REMEMBER the two main points in cutting lemon bars. 1) Wipe the knife between each cut to keep your cuts clean and smooth. 2) Make sure the lemon bars are COMPLETELY cooled before starting to cut.

Make Ahead Tips and Storing Lemon Bars

We recommend making these simple lemon bars at least a day in advance and cooling overnight in the fridge. Lemon bars store in the refrigerator up to 3 days. We find storing them in the refrigerator much longer leaves a soft, not crisp, shortbread crust.

How to Freeze Lemon Bars

Lemon bars freeze great! They can be frozen uncut or cut for up to a month. Freeze the cut lemon bars individually. Once frozen, layer them in an airtight container with parchment paper between each layer and place back in the freezer. To serve. Remove from freezer, separate them into a single layer if needed, thaw in refrigerator, cut if needed, sprinkle with powdered sugar, and ENJOY!

Other Favorite Sweet Bites

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📖 Recipe