I don’t know if it’s the sweet, tart, lemony glaze or if the proportions are just different enough from other lemon bar recipes or if the baking time is just a little shorter (thus avoiding the horror of overcooked eggs–seriously, stuff nightmares are made of!), but these are not only my favorite classic Lemon Bars, but the only classic lemon bars that I’ll eat. They have a delicious crust and the filling is not overly eggy. I will always eat way more of these than I need to, so if my local friends and neighbors suddenly find lemon bars on their doorsteps, you know where they came from!
Ingredients Needed
This is just a preview of ingredients and method, keep scrolling for full printable recipe.
Crust
- All-purpose flour
- Powdered sugar – Powdered sugar gives the crust a light, crumbly texture.
- Butter – Always use real butter if you can. You will want your butter to be nice and cold, straight from the fridge, so you can cut it into the flour and powdered sugar to create a light, flakey crust.
Filling
- Eggs – Make sure you set them out ahead of time to reach room temperature before making the filling. If you forget, place the eggs in a bowl of warm water while you gather your other ingredients.
- Lemon juice – This is no place for bottled juice! Use fresh lemon juice from ripe lemons!
- Baking powder
- All-purpose flour
- Granulated sugar
Glaze
- Powdered sugar
- Lemon juice – Again, freshly squeezed only!
How to Make Glazed Lemon Bars
- You’ll start of by cutting some cold butter into a bit of flour and powdered sugar. I find the easiest way to do this is to grate the butter with a cheese grater directly into the dry ingredients.
- Press that mixture gently into a baking pan and pop it in the oven to bake.
- While the crust is baking, mix up some room temperature eggs, lemon juice, flour, sugar, and baking powder. You’ll want to use an electric mixer here to make sure the mixture is well-blended and frothy.
- Pour that mixture right onto the hot crust and put the pan back in the oven. Bake until lightly golden brown on top.
- Let the bars cool completely and then mix up a quick, tart glaze of freshly-squeezed lemon juice and powdered sugar. Spread evenly over the bars and refrigerate for at least 2 hours before cutting into squares and serving.
Storing and Other Tips
- Store leftover lemon bars in an airtight container in the fridge and enjoy within 3-4 days for best results.
- If you’re making these ahead of time, wait to glaze them until a few hours before serving time.
Frequently Asked Questions
Absolutely! Lime bars are divine.
If you need lots of these lemon bars, I recommend making multiple batches as the baking time is tested for a single pan. You could certainly bake two pans at once in the oven, though. I’d just make sure they’re evenly spaced on the same oven rack to ensure even cooking.
Yes! They actually taste the best on day two, in my opinion. If making these for an event I would make them up to 24 hours ahead of time. You may want to glaze the day of serving for best results.
Glazed Lemon Bars
Ingredients
Crust
- 2 cups all-purpose flour lightly spooned into the measuring cup and leveled with a knife
- ½ cup powdered sugar
- 1 cup butter (2 sticks) softened to room temp
Filling
- 4 large eggs room temperature
- ¼ cup freshly-squeezed lemon juice strained of pulp and seeds
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- ¼ cup all-purpose flour
- 2 cups white sugar
Glaze
- 1 cup powdered sugar
- 3 tablespoons strained freshly squeezed lemon juice
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350℉. Lightly spray a 9×13″ pan with non-stick cooking spray and set aside. Whisk together the flour and powdered sugar and then cut in the butter with a pastry blender or two knives until the mixture is crumbly. Lightly press into the pan and bake for 15-20 minutes or until light golden around the edges. Remove from oven.
- During the last few minutes of the shortbread’s baking time, mix the eggs, lemon juice, flour, sugar, and baking powder in a large bowl with an electric mixer on high speed for three minutes. The mixture should be frothy and very, very pale yellow. Pour the mixture over the warm crust and then return the pan to the oven for another 20-25 minutes or until lightly golden brown on top. You might want to check the bars at 17-18 minutes to make sure the top isn’t getting too dark.
- Remove the pan from the oven and allow to cool completely. When the bars are cool, whisk together the glaze ingredients until smooth and then gently spread over the bars. Refrigerate for at least two hours and then cut into squares before serving. Makes about 36 bars.
Notes
- Store leftover lemon bars in an airtight container in the fridge and enjoy within 3-4 days for best results.
- If you’re making these ahead of time, wait to glaze them until a few hours before serving time.
Nutrition
Questions & Reviews
These are fantastic! Perfect light sweet to take for a holiday weekend at the lake.
Those look yummy! I was wondering if I could make them with key lime juice?
I’m totally sure you could and that they’d be DELISH!! 🙂
Being pregnant and looking at your blog is dangerous…but in a good way 🙂 LOVE your blog. I always know that if I try a recipe from you two, I will NEVER be disappointed. Can’t wait to try these! Kate and Sara, you both are amazing! Thank you for making cooking exciting again for me!
Awww, thank YOU!! 🙂
Also, is there any other way to test if it is done? besides the light brown top? Maybe I beat it too long because it seems like a meringue on top and then foamy stuff underneath 🙁
Really, the best way to check is visually, but you could always insert a thermometer into the center. When it reaches 160, it’s safe to pull them out of the oven. It might seem kind of meringue-y on top, but that will probably puff back down when you’re done. Honestly, everything you’re describing sounds very normal. How did they turn out?
You were right about the fridge. I still think I could have left them in a little longer, but they ended up solidifying in the fridge – except for the middle (which my husband couldn’t wait to cut a piece from – he’s nice, he knows the rest of us fight over the corner pieces). thanks for your help today.
I use a recipe that’s almost exact to this one (without the glaze). I got it from a co-worker, so I wonder if the original recipe is from the Pillsbury cookbook. I never liked lemony or tart desserts before this, and now I’m hooked!!!
I devoted much of my life as well to Lost–I’m with you on that Lost thing. It’s funny I was thinking about that last episode just the other day. Begin with the END in mind people!
The Lemon Bars are very similar to my Grandma’s recipe except for the sweet lemon glaze–definitely will try that next time.
I found many cool recipes on your site…alot don’t have the link to print. When I copy and paste them…they lose their format. Why don’t they all have the PRINT THIS REcIPE link?
I made these and the top is light brown, so I took them out of the oven and was letting them cool completely. But then I noticed that under the light brown top, is a really still gooey filling. I feel like I need to put them back in the oven to cook longer. Will this filling solidify as it cools?
They should be a little gooey when they’re done, but they’ll definitely firm up in the fridge as they cool. You just definitely don’t want to overbake them because they’ll taste sulfur-y and eggy (like overbooked scrambled eggs).
I totally made these tonight… and WOW… they are to die for! I actually used marg instead of butter, and used half the sugar too!…. and still they turned out unbelievable! I can only imagine how good they must be with butter and the full amount of sugar! Thanks for the recipe ladies… you never fail!
This is my favorite lemon bar recipe, too! I have a very similar one that I use from an old company cookbook from my dad’s work. I think the sweet lemon glaze makes the whole bar. I have never liked lemon bars that only have powdered sugar sprinkled on top. Thanks for posting the recipe!
I am A HUGE fan of “Lost”. I miss it everyday. I’m with you 100% on your struggle. I feel the same way. Now about these lemon bars. Please someone get a towel. I’m drooling. Lemon + Lanell = LOVE.