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This lemon bar recipe is a simple, old fashioned dessert! Our made from scratch crust is baked with butter, sugar, vanilla, and flour. Our sweet and tart lemon filling is made with sugar, flour, eggs, and lemon with a light dusting of powdered sugar on top.
You’ll want to try our easy blueberry dump cake and our lemon poke cake as well for more quick and simple desserts.
MORE LEMON RECIPES:
Lemon Lush | Lemon Cheesecake | Lemon Blueberry Bread
ingredients for Lemon Bars
You will need:
FOR THE CRUST
- 1 cup butter, melted
- 1/2 cup sugar
- 1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- 2 cups flour
FOR THE FILLING
- 3 cups sugar
- 1 cup flour
- 6 large eggs, room temperature
- 1 cup lemon juice (about 4 lemons). Use fresh-squeezed lemon juice to really enhance the flavor of this recipe, bottled lemon juice will not have the same flavor or texture
- 2 tablespoons lemon zest
- Confectioners’ sugar for dusting
In the recipe card, at the end of the post, you will find the full recipe for these lemon bars – including buttons to easily print or pin it!
How to Make this Lemon Bars recipe
This is one recipe that I really recommend using a glass baking dish for. I just use a standard 9×13 glass casserole dish that you can pick up just about anywhere.
STEP ONE: For the crust, mix the butter, sugar, and vanilla together in a medium bowl. Add the flour and stir to combine.
STEP TWO: Press the crust mixture firmly into a 9×13 glass casserole dish lined with parchment paper. Then, bake at 350 degrees for 15 to 20 minutes or until the edges are light brown.
STEP THREE: To make the lemon layer, add the sugar and flour into a large bowl and use a whisk to get out any lumps. Add the eggs, lemon juice, and lemon zest and whisk until combined. Pour the filling over the warm crust. The mixture will be a little runny.
STEP FOUR: Bake for 30 minutes until the center is set and doesn’t jiggle. It’s totally normal to see air bubbles on the top of your lemon bars after baking. You can’t even tell they’re there once you dust with powdered sugar.
STEP SIX: Remove from oven and cool completely at room temperature, then refrigerate. These actually taste amazing after chilling for several hours or overnight. Dust with powdered sugar before serving.
How to Cut Lemon Bars
One of the things I love about these rich, irresistible lemon bars is how perfect they look. We eat with our eyes first! Once your lemon bars are well chilled, take a very sharp, oiled knife and cut. I recommend wiping it off in between cuts just to get those beautiful, clean lines.
Storage
IN THE FRIDGE: Any leftovers should be stored in an airtight container. They’ll stay fresh for up to four days in the fridge.
IN THE FREEZER: These lemon bars will keep for up to four months when properly stored. After cooling, I recommend wrapping each square in wax paper, then plastic wrap before placing inside a freezer-safe container or bag.
Sweet, tart and delicious this classic lemon bar recipe is the perfect easy dessert. You’ll love the simple baked crust and fresh lemon filling.
More Recipes You’ll Love
Lemon Bars
Ingredients
FOR THE CRUST
- 1 cup butter melted
- 1/2 cup sugar
- 1 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
- 2 cups flour
FOR THE FILLING
- 3 cups sugar
- 1 cup flour
- 6 large eggs room temperature
- 1 cup lemon juice fresh is best, about 4 lemons
- 2 tbsp lemon zest
- Confectioners’ sugar for dusting
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
- Line a 9×13 pan with parchment paper.
- For the crust mix the butter, sugar, and vanilla together in a medium bowl.
- Add the flour and stir to combine.
- Press firmly into your prepared pan and bake for 15 to 20 minutes or until the edges are light brown.
- Add the sugar and flour into a large bowl. Use a whisk to get out any lumps.
- Add the eggs, lemon zest, and lemon juice and whisk until combined.
- Pour the filling over the warm crust. Bake for 30 to 35 minutes until the center is set and doesn’t jiggle.
- Remove from oven and cool completely at room temperature. Then refrigerate.
- Dust with powdered sugar before serving.
We LOVE these… truly a classic dessert! They’re also very easy to make, my boys love to help!
T. This is zooooooooo good! Great recipe! I made these lemonbars voor a friend, as a gift. But when we tasted it I had to fight my husband and 14jr old daughter out of the kitchen 😂 Thx!
Virine from Holland
Lemon is one of my favorite flavours this time of year. Its fresh and bright tasting and always makes me think of Spring and sunshine.
Thank you for joining Sam at I at the Waste not Wednesday link party Stephanie. We appreciate you dropping by.
Very good recipe, however 4 lemons only made about a tbsp of zest and 1/2 cup of lemon juice. I add 2 drops of lemon extract and 1/2 cup water to the 1/2 cup juice to make the full cup of lemon juice. That worked out well.
Thanks for the recipe! I tried it today and it turned out a little more cake-y than I thought they would. Maybe I used too much flour? It also took a whole bag of lemons- maybe 7 or 8 to get the full amount of lemon juice. They are currently cooling and I can’t wait to try them out and maybe make some modifications next time!
Came out wonderful the first time. I used traditional measuring cups, second time I weigh the dry ingredients. We’ll see how they turn out. Is there a big difference in the technique I used ?
Absolutely the best, so easy to make and full of great flavor!
The are literally the best lemon bars I have tasted since my grandmothers.
I want to make these today? Is it still okay if I don’t have a glass baking dish?
Yes, enjoy!
Amazing! So easy and unfortunately I have a hard time putting them down.
Has anyone halved these? My hubby will probably only have one or two and it’s just us in the house. But I’ve gotta make these! I was thinking of just halving all the ingredients and using an 8×8 glass dish. Anyone else tried that?
I’ve never tried halving because my guys inhale them! haha But I would assume you could do an 8×8 dish and halve. Let me know how it works if you try it! Enjoy 🙂