Little Foodies: Lemon Bars

The Foodies' KitchenMay 26, 2018

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We had been wanting to bake these lemon squares for a long time! They are tart and sweet, with a flaky crust made with a mixture of flour and wheat germ that melts in your mouth. This recipe makes a big batch, enough for you to share, bake for gifts or send as treats for a school activity. If you want to make them just for you and your family, we suggest you make half a recipe. Just divide all of the ingredients into two.

When we first saw this recipe, it promised to yield perfect lemon bars… and we have to say they are the best we have tasted! The trick is in the crust. When you spread the dough onto your baking sheet, make sure you make a raised border all around the sides, which will prevent the filling to get under it when it is baking. You can use lemon juice, or any other citrus juice to make these bars. We want to try to make orange or tangerine bars next time, but I think we would combine the juice with some lime juice and maybe tweak the amount of sugar so they are not so sweet.

This recipe was chosen by out little foodie, and it is a great recipe to make with kids at home. They will have fun pressing down the dough onto the baking sheet, and they can easily mix all the ingredients for the filling.

To cut your squares, first start by cutting the whole thing in half ,vertically. Then cut that half in half, vertically as well, and repeat a third time. Then make horizontal cuts in the same manner. Always wipe your knife before each cut, to get clean sides.

Helga

Lemon Bars

Recipe from Kitchen Conundrums
Yields approx 48 squares

Ingredients, for the crust:
3 ½ cups all-purpose flour
½ cup wheat germ
½ cup confectioners’ sugar
½ teaspoon salt
1 pound (4 sticks) cold unsalted butter, cut into pieces

Ingredients, for the filling:
8 large eggs
4 cups granulated sugar
⅔ cup all-purpose flour
¾ cup fresh lemon juice, plus 1 tablespoon finely grated lemon zest
¾ cup fresh lime juice, plus 1 tablespoon finely grated lime zest
½ teaspoon salt

additional confectioners‘ sugar for sprinkling

Procedure:

For the crust, heat the oven to 350 degrees. In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, wheat germ, confectioners’ sugar, and salt. Add butter, and cut in using a pastry cutter, two knives, or your fingers, until the largest pieces of butter are the size of peas. We used two knives and finished it off with our fingers.
Press evenly into a 12½-by-17½-inch rimmed baking sheet. Bake until golden, 35 to 40 minutes. Transfer to a wire rack until completely cool. You can also use two smaller baking sheets.
For the filling, in a medium bowl whisk together, eggs, sugar, and flour. Add lemon and lime juice, lemon and lime zest, and salt. Whisk to combine. Pour over cooled crust.
Bake until center is set, about 30 minutes. Transfer to a wire rack until completely cool. Cut into 2-inch squares and sprinkle with confectioners‘ sugar. Bars can be stored in an airtight container at room temperature up to 2 days.

To download a printable version of this recipe, click below!

Download Printable

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