The Most Delicious Lemon Bars You’ve Ever Tasted!

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“Outstanding!” That’s usually how these delicious lemon bars are described.

I’ve had people beg me to make them. And even more people fall all over themselves to get some when I bring them to get togethers.

“What’s your secret?? No one else makes them like you do!” They ask.

“I have no secret,” I say. “I just follow the recipe in the Betty Crocker cookbook.”

After some scoffing and disbelieving looks, they eventually let the subject drop. But honestly, I really do follow this recipe to the letter.

Or at least I thought I did.

I’ve been scouring the internet looking for recipes that match the one I hand-wrote into my recipe book so I wouldn’t have to keep dragging out the Betty every time I wanted to bake, but I haven’t been able to find any like mine.

And now I know why.

I left out an ingredient when I was transcribing that recipe into my book. DUH!

I guess the baking powder makes a bit of difference.

Baking powder is a leavening agent so it causes baked goods to rise and be more fluffy.  It’s also sometimes used instead of yeast in certain recipes.

The lemon filling in my delicious lemon bars isn’t puffy and cake like. It’s more like a baked lemon curd, lemony and delicious. (And tastes very much like the lemon curd recipe in the Use Up Those Egg Yolks post on our adoption blog!)

Lemony goodness on top of a shortbread crust? It doesn’t get much better than that…

So since everyone is always dying for this recipe, I’m sharing it here and now, just for you. And since this is now “my own” recipe, I’m also going to change the directions so they show how I do things with my own little quirks tips and tricks.

You’re very welcome.

The Lemon Bars Process

The crust mixture should be crumbly when all mixed together. I mix mine with my hands. It’s too difficult, or maybe I’m too impatient, to do it with a spoon, but you can totally use a spoon if you prefer. Also, I try to make sure my butter isn’t TOO soft. Otherwise, it’s harder to mix and gets sticky. Although maybe if I used the spoon like I’m supposed to, it might not stick as badly…

Press the crust into the pan and up the sides just a bit. I use a 9 inch pan, and I also line it with aluminum foil so it’s easier to remove the lemon bars once they’re cooled and cut.

The edges should just barely be starting to brown when it’s taken out of the oven.

Use your gorgeous, workhorse Kitchenaid mixer (or a hand mixer works too) to start the filling while the crust bakes. I time this so I start mixing when the crust has about 3 minutes left to bake. That way, I can make sure the crust is nice and hot when I pour the lemon mixture on it.

**I do add 3-4 drops of yellow food coloring to my filling mixture. See notes section below**

Check for doneness by gently touching the top. Being gentle is the key here, people. It will have a flaky, delicate crust, but when touched softly enough, there won’t be a gushy indentation left. Be careful because the crust will crack easily. So to clarify, it may crack a bit, but it won’t be gushy.

Cool completely, then dust with powdered sugar and cut into squares. I usually add a bit more powdered sugar on the squares once they’re cut and on their serving plate.

Adapted very slightly from this Betty Crocker recipe.

Serve these as dessert after making chicken pot pie for dinner, at your next party or get together, or give them to a new mom when you go visit her and her new baby. No matter how you share them, everyone will be thrilled to eat these delicious lemon bars!