THE BEST LEMON BARS — A sweet shortbread crust is topped with a thick layer of luscious lemon filling, then dusted with powdered sugar for practically perfect lemon bars.
I’ve tried a lot of lemon bars in my day, and I’ve always been a little bit disappointed in the crust to lemon filling ration–until now! These really are the Best Lemon Bars I’ve ever had!
These really are the best lemon bars ever! I made this New Years resolution to try 200 new baking recipes this year. With that much baking, my goal was NOT to repeat ANY recipe.
But, that went out the window with this recipe! I’ve had so many requests for more of these lemon bars that I had to make an exception. ~ Heather
Just check out that thick layer of lemony goodness! It’s the reason these lemon bars are the best, in my opinion.
And my whole family agrees. They can hardly wait for these bars to cool before they dig in.
To me, a good lemon bar is the perfect dessert for almost any spring occasion, but citrus fruit is actually in season during the winter, which makes these lemon bars a perfect choice any time of year.
You can never go wrong serving lemon bars at an Easter brunch or buffet. If you won’t be feeding a crowd (or several teenage boys), this recipe can be cut in half easily.
Wow! These bars are fabulous! They came out perfect! Great recipe – Thank you!! ~ Sherry
I definitely recommend using the parchment paper trick. It makes removing the bars from the pan and cutting them so much easier.
If you’ve been searching for a recipe for the Best Lemon Bars, look no further. This is the one!
WHAT PEOPLE ARE SAYING ABOUT THE BEST LEMON BARS
I just made these and they turned out amazing! I love the thick crust! I did have to cook the crust about 10 minutes longer than the recipe said but besides that the recipe is perfect! ~ Mindy
SO YUMMY! Tangy, sweet-tart! Perfect Easter dessert for a crowd! I agree with the author-just the right balance of crust to custard filling. ~ Rachel
These were delicious. I used Meyer lemons, over the top rich and lemony. ~ Suzanne
I made this recipe and it worked and tasted wonderful! I had to cook the crust 4 minutes longer in my gas oven. I took the batch to a party and everyone said they were delicious. ~ Kristina
These are amazing, and I usually don’t like lemon bars but they are my husbands favorite. My entire family loved them. ~ Amy
I’ve made these probably seven or eight times now. They are easy to make and absolutely delicious. I actually half the recipe.They are more manageable at half the size. Everyone I’ve made them for absolutely loves them. ~ Clare
Be sure to save this recipe for the Best Lemon Bars to your favorite Pinterest board for later.
Here’s what you’ll need to make the Best Lemon Bars
- Butter
- Sugar
- Flour
- Salt
- Eggs
- Lemons
- Powdered sugar
The Best Lemon Bars
Ingredients
For the crust:
- 3 sticks 3/4 lb. butter, room temperature
- 3/4 cup granulated sugar
- 2 3/4 cups flour
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
For the filling:
- 6 eggs room temperature
- 3 cups granulated sugar
- 2 tablespoons lemon zest
- 1 cup freshly squeezed lemon juice
- 1 cup flour
- Confectioners’ sugar for dusting
Instructions
- Butter a 9 x 13 baking pan, then line the bottom and sides of the pan with parchment paper. This is optional but will make removing the bars from the pan much easier.
- Make the crust by creaming the butter, sugar and salt in the bowl of an electric mixer until light and fluffy. Stir in the flour.
- Using your hands, press the dough into the bottom of prepared pan. Chill the pan while the oven preheats to 350° degrees. Bake the crust for 12-15 minutes, until very lightly browned. Let cool on a wire rack. Leave the oven on.
- Whisk together the eggs, sugar, lemon zest, lemon juice, and flour. Pour the lemon mixture over the crust and bake for about 35 minutes, until filling is set. Let cool to room temperature, then refrigerate at least one hour.
- Cut into squares and dust with confectioners’ sugar. Store any leftovers in a covered container in the refrigerator.
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Nutrition
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Who Dished It Up First: Monica over at Lick the Bowl Good.
38 comments
Zada
Just read through the comments and it appears we are having a “crust too thick/ love the thick crust debate here. I fall on the love the crust side. I had a hard time trusting you on the baking time because it did not look done. I cursed your name but I followed your instructions nonetheless. I let the crust cool til it was less like a liquid, then poured on the filling. I think this might be the key. If you overbake it, it will be firm and like a thick crust. If you bake til it looks underdone, the whole thing melds together into a melt-in-your mouth perfection. I’ve now baked them five times and am about to bake them into a round tin and call it a pie for my son’s birthday.
J
Lemon flavored desserts are bad.
Aimee
I’m’ making this now and the crust has to bake for at least twice the time in the recipe. Worried about the filling and pulled out my sunset basics recipe. Will try that. Good tip on chilling the crust before going in the oven.
Judy
Could not find my lemon bar recipe so I decided to try this because of the comments. It was simply HORRIBLE! Crust way too thick. When I got to the filling I thought a cup of flour was way too much. I remember only a few tablespoons. The filling was thick and gummy.
I gave be4n baking for 60 years, even in the Convent, and have never had a failed recipe.
Not even my step Grandson would eat them, that’s how bad they were – and he’ll eat anything!
I did find my recipe. It called for 3 tablespoons of flour. I made them and they were PERFECT!
Jaycie
These turned out amazing!!!! I only used half of the crust and I added coconut to the filling! SO good!
Mindy
I just made these and they turned out amazing! I love the thick crust! I did have to cook the crust about 10 minutes longer than the recipe said but besides that the recipe is perfect!
Susan
Has anyone froze these if so did you cut first
Rachel D Gaspar
SO YUMMY! Tangy, sweet-tart! Perfect Easter dessert for a crowd! I agree with the author-just the right balance of crust to custard filling.
Abby
I use this same recipe and bake them on a cookie sheet. 11×15. They come out perfect every time
Candy
I just made these at 35 minutes middle seemed too jiggly, shut oven off and left in for 10 for minutes, seems solid now. Smell delicious, hope they taste as good as they smell.
Love Good Food
This is Ina Garten’s lemon bar recipe! The only difference is you use 1-1/2 times her recipe’s crust ingredients for a thicker crust. Love Ina’s recipe. Will have to see if your thicker crust variation improves the flavor ratio or makes it too much like a heavy shortbread cookie.
Susan Deupree
These look great. I love lemon bars! I was wondering if you (or anyone else – I am a huge fan of crowdsourcing!) have any suggestions for an alternative low cal crust (relatively speaking, at least? Or do you think there mightbe a way to pull this off crustless?? Maybe as a cup? Crust is nice to have, as no utensils are needed to enjoy, but the lemon layer is what I adore and i dont mindcleaning a few spoons! I dont bake very often, so i dont have very many substitutions in my ‘baking kit’. I’m about to try your no-bake black forrest cheesecake, fyi, which also looks amazebees!
Kim
I just made these. They are in the oven now. Can’t wait to taste them.
Betty
I made this recipe without making any changes. First of all, I baked the crust for almost half hour before it was done. The crust doesn’t have much flavor at all. The lemon filling is just ok. Ina Garten’s lemon bars are much better. Sorry.
Sherry
Just made these for my adult grandson’s birthday and I’m hoping he loves them. I tasted the filling on the way to the oven and it was to die for. Thanks for the recipe Danelle.
Heather
Omg – these really are the best lemon bars ever!
So… I made this New Years resolution to try 200 new baking recipes this year. With that much baking, my goal was NOT to repeat ANY recipe. But, that went out the window with this recipe! I’ve had so many requests for more of these lemon bars that I had to make an exception. There’s a batch of them in the oven as I type! Lol
Danelle
Awesome! Thank you. Sorry I made you break your resolution. 😉
Monika
Disappointed with this recipe, I pick this ‘best recipe’ because of the crust to filling ratio. I baked them last night and ended up having to cook the bars an extra 15 minutes because the pan was so ‘jiggly’ after checking them. I then worried all night I may have ‘burnt’ them. When to cut them today and ended up only being able to use the outsides of the pan, the inside when cut didn’t hold its shap whatsoever. Not sure what went wrong, checked and double checked the recipe when making it based on others comments.
Vicky S
This is my go to lemon bar recipe now. I love it! I LOVE the thick crust! My family always asks for them. I’m baking them for the 5th time now for Christmas gifts. THANK YOU!
Diane
I made them and it seem that there was way to much crust for a 9×12 pan. There is 3 sticks butter and 3 cups flour. Is the pan size correct? I used two pans and this seemed that this was enough crust. Please let me know your thoughts.
Cynthia
I agree. Crust was too thick in ratio to filling. Will cut that part down next time!
Danelle
Yes, the pan size and amount of crust is correct. But the thickness of the crust is also a personal preference, so if it seemed like too much for you, using less or using 2 pans is another option.
Ria
Those boxed mixes of lemon bars just don’t cut it. There are absolutely delicious. Thank you so much for posting this recipe, I was looking all over for it. 🙂
Suzanne
These were delicious. I used Meyer lemons, over the top rich and lemony.
Sherry
Wow! These bars are fabulous! They came out perfect! Great recipe – Thank you!!
Kristin
I am making this now. I just put it in the oven and the crust is totally floating to the top. I don’t know what went wrong. These are for my son’s birthday party tonight and I want to cry.
Danelle
Did you bake the crust first for about 15 minutes? If so, I’m guessing they might still be fine. The top gets a very crusty looking layer, and that may be what you’re seeing. It might not be the crust at all. I’d let them finish baking and see what happens. If not, the only thing I can think that would cause that is not pressing the crust into the pan firmly enough, or not pressing it all the way to the edges.
Kerri Nowowiejski
Danielle, I tried making these and the filling was way too runny – maybe I forgot to put the flour in the lemon batter? Do you have trouble with this?
Danelle
The filling is quite runny before baking, but once it is baked they should firm up nicely, especially once cooled. If it is still runny after that you may have missed an ingredient, or not baked them quite long enough.
Kerri Nowowiejski
Damielle, I tried making these and the filling was way too runny – maybe I forgot to put the flour in the lemon batter? Do you have trouble with this?
MegUnprocessed
These look beautiful!
Joanne
These look sooo yummy! I love anything with lemons!
nat
OMG, yummy! I often forget that I like lemon bars, but then I get reminded every now and then. Those look so good!
Jodi
Loveee lemon.. This looks delish!
Monica H
So glad you made these. It’s one of those recipes I wish I could force feed to people just to make themtry them so they’d know how good they are. haha! I also loved how thick the filling was. yum!
You’ll definitely have to try them mixed with the lemon zest in there- so tangy!
Martha
The 1 cup of flour is a lot in the lemon mix. It isn’t a typo?
Rachel
Dang gena look at all that butter, haha 🙂 But these do really look good!
Cara @ The Boys Made Me Do It
I love lemon recipes too! The lemon layer looks so thick and delicious!