When I was in law school, I was always the one baking for parties and student group meetings. (I was also the one who hosted elaborate dinner parties and brought homemade soup to sick friends, one of whom later became my husband.) I had two go-to recipes, my grandmother’s famous Halfway Cookies and lemon bars. If he weren’t going to marry me for the soup alone, the lemon bars might have been what did it for my husband. We’ve been together for fifteen years and he still asks for these lemon bars.
A little lavender baked into the crust
I got a little fancy with this batch of lemon bars because after fifteen years of the same thing I get bored. (Just kidding, honey!) To mix things up a bit, I added lavender-scented sugar to the crust and used Meyer lemons instead of regular lemons. To make lavender sugar, which is such a fun thing to have around, combine one cup of sugar with 1 1/4 teaspoons of dried lavender. You can use it in all kinds of baked goods or to sweeten drinks like iced tea.
I also added a small amount of lemon oil to the filling. Lemon oil is my secret weapon in the fight against bland lemon desserts. Available on Amazon or the King Arthur Flour website, lemon oil adds an intense lemon flavor to baked goods. The bottle says to use it in lieu of lemon zest but I use it in addition to lemon zest. That’s twice the lemon power! Lemon oil is expensive but one bottle will last for ages as long as you it keep it in the refrigerator.
If you don’t have lavender, or Meyer lemons or lemon oil, just ignore all of those instructions and make these lemon bars with plain old sugar and regular lemons. They will still taste amazing and brighten up any gray winter day. Happily, lemon bars are an easy, straightforward project that even the baking-phobic can tackle. So, if you need a dessert to bring to a holiday party or, say, your kids’ piano recital (me this Saturday), consider this the recipe you have been looking for.
It just got a whole lot easier to dust confectioner’s sugar artfully over warm lemon bars thanks to the OXO Baker’s Dusting Wand. How adorable is this little gadget? Use it to sprinkle flour onto a board when rolling out pie dough or to dust sugar, cocoa powder or cinnamon on top of baked goods. It would also work really well with stencils. I just got one and already I don’t know how I lived without it. The Baker’s Dusting Wand is the perfect size for a stocking stuffer too. If, you know, you’re a Gentile.
I know I sound like a broken record but the winter is the best time of year for citrus. Go to the grocery store and open your eyes to the Meyer lemons, the Key limes and the blood oranges. Go crazy with a pomelo or a pint of kumquats. Sunny citrus fruits are the best way to beat the winter blues and trick yourself into thinking that you are vacationing in Florida.
- 8 oz. unsalted butter, softened
- ½ cup lavender sugar
- 2 cups flour
- ½ tsp kosher salt
- 2½ cups granulated sugar
- 6 large eggs at room temperature
- 1 cup Meyer lemon juice
- Zest from two Meyer lemons
- ½ tsp lemon oil (optional)
- 1 cup flour
- Confectioner's sugar for dusting
- To make the crust, in the bowl of a stand mixer, cream the butter and lavender sugar on medium speed until light and fluffy, about two to three minutes.
- Add the flour and salt and mix until the dough begins to come together.
- Transfer the dough to a 9x13 baking dish and using your fingertips, press the dough into an even layer that covers the entire pan.
- Chill the dough for at least thirty minutes. Meanwhile, preheat the oven to 350.
- Bake the chilled crust for twenty minutes.
- While the crust is baking, prepare the filling. Whisk together the granulated sugar, eggs, lemon juice, lemon zest and lemon oil, if using, until combined.
- Whisk in the flour until the mixture is smooth.
- After twenty minutes, remove the crust from the oven and turn the heat down to 325.
- Pour the filling over the crust and return the pan to the oven and bake until the filling is set, 30-35 minutes.
- Dust the top of the lemon bars with confectioner's sugar while they are still warm.
- Cool on a wire rack before cutting.
Full disclosure time: I received a Baker’s Dusting Wand free of charge from OXO as a holiday gift. I was not asked to write about it, nor have I received any compensation from OXO. As always, all opinions expressed herein are entirely my own.
