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Sheet Pan Lemon Bars
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Quite Possibly The Best Lemon Squares Ever

Possibly The Best Ever Lemon Squares! The bit of half & half cuts the lemon a bit.
Course Dessert
Cuisine American
Keyword lemon squares
Prep Time 15 minutes
Cook Time 40 minutes
Chilling and Cooling 1 hour
Total Time 1 hour 55 minutes
Servings 12
Author Anna
Cost 5

Ingredients

Crust:

  • 1 cup all-purpose flour (130 grams), pastry flour okay too
  • 4 tablespoons granulated sugar OR powdered sugar (50 grams granulated or 30 grams powdered)
  • teaspoon salt, increase to ½ if using unsalted butter
  • 8 tablespoons salted butter, gently melted (114 grams)

Filling:

  • 2 large eggs
  • cup granulated sugar (130 grams)
  • 1 ½ tablespoons all-purpose flour (9 grams)
  • 1 teaspoon lemon zest
  • cup fresh lemon juice, strained if you have time
  • 3 tablespoons half & half (light cream) Or use 1 ½ T. cream and 1 ½ T. milk
  • teaspoon salt

Instructions

  • Grease and flour an 8 inch square metal pan or a ⅛ sheet pan. You can use parchment paper or foil if desired, but be sure to grease and flour the lined pan.
  • In a mixing bowl, stir together the flour, sugar and salt. Pour in the gently melted, cooled, butter and stir to make a soft dough. Press into the bottom of the greased pan. Chill the dough lined pan for about 30 minutes or until ready to bake.
  • Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. When oven is preheated, bake the pre-chilled crust (above) for 18-20 minutes or until edges are very lightly browned. If you prefer a less browned crust, bake at 325 for 25 to 28 minutes.

Lemon Filling

  • While the crust is baking, crack the eggs into a bowl and use a fork or tweezers to remove the white stringy things (chalazae).
  • A few minutes before the crust is ready, whisk together all filling ingredients until smooth. REDUCE OVEN HEAT.
  • Again, reduce oven temperature to 325 degrees. Stir filling, then pour filling over the warm crust. Bake for 20 minutes or until filling no longer appears wet and shaky. It won't look completely done, but if small bubbles have formed on the surface it should be ready to remove. It will set as it cools.
  • Set on a wire rack and cool to room temperature. Lift from pan, place on cutting board, dust with extra powdered sugar, trim edges and cut into bars.

Notes

For the crust, granulated sugar will make it firmer and powdered sugar will make it soft and less sweet.  I prefer a firmer crust to hold the lemon filling, but some people like the soft texture of the powdered sugar crust.  You can use either.

Firm, Powdery, Food Processor Version Crust

  • ¾ cup plus 2 tablespoons flour (114 grams)
  • ⅓ cup powdered sugar (40 grams)
  • 2 tablespoons cornstarch (16 grams)
  • ⅜ teaspoon salt
  • 6 tablespoons cold unsalted butter, cut into chunks (84 grams)
Pulse flour, powdered sugar, cornstarch, and salt in food processor. Add butter, then pulse until coarse. Pour mixture (it will be very dry) into lined pan and press over pan bottom. Refrigerate for 30 minutes. While it chills, you can make the filling.
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. When oven is preheated, bake the pre-chilled crust (above) for 18-20 minutes or until edges are very lightly browned.