Lemon Bars

4.90 from 19 votes
Jump to Recipe Pin Recipe

Posts may contain affiliate links, meaning that I may earn a commission if you use a link provided.

The best lemon bars recipe — a perfectly sweet and tart lemon filling on top of a rich and buttery shortbread crust.

Lemon bars, also known as lemon squares, are a classic dessert bar with a bright lemon filling.

Like lemon cake mix cookies, lemon cupcakes, lemon layer cake, and lemon lush, these tangy lemon bars are a popular choice for holidays, brunches, bridal showers, baby showers, and bakes sales.

Four square lemon bars stacked on a white plate and topped with a small dollop of whipped cream

I especially love serving chilled lemon bars right from the fridge during the Spring and Summer months. They are light, fresh, and just the perfect dessert for warm days.

As you will see, these homemade lemon bars are not only the perfect combination of tart and sweet, but they are also super smooth and creamy thanks to the extra egg yolks in the recipe. So yummy!

Lemon bar topped with powdered sugar on a white plate with a silver fork and garnish of lemon peel.

Ingredients

To make this lemon bar recipe from scratch you will need…

Shortbread Crust Ingredients: sugar, butter, flour. Lemon Filling Ingredients: flour, sugar, eggs, lemon zest and juice.
  • butter
  • flour
  • granulated sugar
  • eggs
  • lemon juice
  • lemon zest
  • powdered sugar

How to Make Lemon Bars

Make the crust: Mix the crust ingredients together, press into a parchment-lined pan and bake for 20 minutes or until lightly golden brow .

unbaked crust in 9 x 13 pan; baked crust in 9 x 13 pan

Make the filling: Whisk the filling ingredients together and pour over the crust.

left: mixing bowl with yellow mixture and wire whisk; right: 9 x 13 glass baking dish with unbaked lemon bars

Bake: Bake for 20 minutes or until the center is set.

Cool & serve: Allow bars to cool at room temperature before dusting with powdered sugar, slicing, and serving.

Storage

Refrigerate lemon bars in an airtight container for up to 3 days.

Lemon bars can also be frozen for up to 3 months. Place fully cooled bars on a baking sheet and freeze for about 2 hours. Then remove from freezer, wrap bars individually in plastic wrap, and place in a freezer baggie.

For best results, freeze bars without the dusting of powdered sugar. Thaw the bars overnight and add dust with powdered sugar just before serving.

Hand holding a fork talking a piece out of a Lemon Bar topped with powdered sugar, served on a white plate with a garnish of lemon peel.

Tips for the best lemon bars

  • Use fresh lemon juice for the best flavor–not the stuff that comes in a bottle
  • Zest your lemons before juicing them, making sure to get only the yellow rind and not the white pith.
  • For extra lemon flavor up the lemon juice in the filling to the juice of 3 lemons.

More dessert bar recipes

If you enjoyed these classic lemon bars give these other dessert bars a try:

Recipe
four bright yellow lemon Bars stacked on top of one another on a white plate.
Recipe
4.90 from 19 votes

Lemon Bars

Author: Jaclyn
Prep: 15 minutes
Cook: 40 minutes
Total: 55 minutes
The best lemon bars recipe — a perfectly sweet and tart lemon filling on top of a rich and buttery shortbread crust.

Ingredients
 

For the Crust:

  • 2 sticks butter softened
  • 2 cups all-purpose flour
  • ¼ cup granulated sugar

For the Lemon Filling:

  • 3 large eggs
  • 1 large egg yolk
  • 1 ½ cups granulated sugar
  • ½ cup all-purpose flour
  • 2 lemons juiced (about ½ cup)
  • 1 teaspoon lemon zest
  • powdered sugar for dusting optional

Instructions

  • Preheat the oven to 350 F and line a 9×13 baking dish with parchment paper.
  • In a medium mixing bowl, combine the shortbread crust ingredients and mix until the mixture resembles wet sand. Press firmly into the bottom of the baking dish in an even layer and bake until the edges are lightly browned–about 20 minutes. 
  • Whisk together the eggs, egg yolk, granulated sugar, flour, lemon juice, and lemon zest in a large bowl. Pour over the crust and bake just until the center is set– about another 20 minutes.
  • Remove the bars from the oven and allow to cool completely at room temperature. Once cooled, dust with powdered sugar (optional), slice, and serve.

Notes

Store bars in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 3 days. 

Nutrition

Serving: 1g | Calories: 416kcal
four bright yellow lemon Bars stacked on top of one another on a white plate.

Did You Make This Recipe?

Share it with me on Instagram @crayonsandcravings and follow on Pinterest @crayonsandcravings for even more!

Pin for later

The Best Lemon Bars; Easy Recipe!!!

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Recipe Rating




2 Comments

  1. Totally AWESOME! Very light, but packed with lemon flavor. Its in my FAV category!

Similar Posts