Lemon Bars

A stack of three lemon bars on a blue background.

Print Recipe Add to Collection

4.34 from 9 votes

Lemon bars are the best lemon dessert, featuring a simple shortbread crust and a rich and custardy lemon filling.

Prep Time15

Cook Time55

Chill time3

Total Time4 10

Course: Dessert

Cuisine: American

Total Cost: $3.81 recipe / $0.42 each

Servings:

Calories: 349kcal

Author: Beth Moncel

Ingredients

Shortbread Crust

1 cup all-purpose flour $0.12
1/2 cup powdered sugar $0.13
1/4 tsp salt $0.02
6 Tbsp salted butter $0.75

Lemon Filling

1.5 cups granulated sugar $0.36
4 large eggs $0.78
3/4 cup lemon juice (about 4 lemons) + 1 Tbsp zest $1.55
3/4 cup all-purpose flour $0.08

Topping (optional)

1 Tbsp powdered sugar $0.02

Instructions

Preheat the oven to 325ºF. In a large bowl, stir together the flour, powdered sugar, and salt for the shortbread crust until well combined.
Melt the butter, then pour it into the bowl of dry ingredients for the crust, and stir until everything is moistened and the mixture looks slightly crumbly.
Line an 8x8-inch baking dish with parchment paper. Press the shortbread mixture into the bottom of the dish in an even layer.
Transfer the baking dish to the oven and bake the crust for 25 minutes*, or just until the edges are lightly golden.
While the crust is baking, juice and zest your lemons. You'll need ¾ cup lemon juice and 1 Tbsp zest.
Begin to make the filling. In a large bowl, whisk together the sugar, flour, eggs, and zest until smooth. Add the lemon juice and whisk until smooth again.
When the crust is finished baking, pour the lemon filling into the baking dish on top of the crust, then transfer it back to the oven and continue to bake for another 30 minutes, or until the center no longer jiggles.
Let the lemon bars cool for about 10 minutes before transferring to the refrigerator to chill completely.
Once the lemon bars are completely chilled, remove them from the baking dish, slice into 9 pieces, and then dust with about 1 Tbsp powdered sugar. Enjoy!

See how we calculate recipe costs here.

Notes

*If you're using a metal baking dish, the baking time may be slightly shorter.

Nutrition

Lemon Bars https://metabolic-life.news/lemon-bars/%3C/p%3E%3C/div%3E%3C/div%3E%3Cscript%3Ewindow.wprm_recipes = {"recipe-69515":{"type":"food","name":"Lemon Bars","slug":"wprm-lemon-bars","image_url":"https:\/\/www.budgetbytes.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/08\/Lemon-Bars-stacked.jpg","rating":{"count":9,"total":39,"average":4.34,"type":{"comment":9,"no_comment":0,"user":0},"user":0},"ingredients":[{"uid":0,"amount":"1","unit":"cup","name":"all-purpose flour","notes":"$0.12","unit_id":11945,"id":1113,"conversion_item_snapshot":{"amount":"1","unit":"cup","timestamp":1774490471000},"type":"ingredient","unit_systems":{"unit-system-1":{"amount":"1","unit":"cup","unitParsed":"cup"}}},{"uid":2,"amount":"1\/2","unit":"cup","name":"powdered sugar","notes":"$0.13","unit_id":11945,"id":1330,"conversion_item_snapshot":{"amount":"1\/2","unit":"cup","timestamp":1774490471000},"type":"ingredient","unit_systems":{"unit-system-1":{"amount":"1\/2","unit":"cup","unitParsed":"cup"}}},{"uid":3,"amount":"1\/4","unit":"tsp","name":"salt","notes":"$0.02","unit_id":11942,"id":1103,"conversion_item_snapshot":{"amount":"1\/4","unit":"tsp","timestamp":1774490471000},"type":"ingredient","unit_systems":{"unit-system-1":{"amount":"1\/4","unit":"tsp","unitParsed":"tsp"}}},{"uid":4,"amount":"6","unit":"Tbsp","name":"salted butter","notes":"$0.75","unit_id":11943,"id":2129,"conversion_item_snapshot":{"amount":"6","unit":"Tbsp","timestamp":1774490471000},"type":"ingredient","unit_systems":{"unit-system-1":{"amount":"6","unit":"Tbsp","unitParsed":"Tbsp"}}},{"uid":6,"amount":"1.5","unit":"cups","name":"granulated sugar","notes":"$0.36","unit_id":11946,"id":1343,"conversion_item_snapshot":{"amount":"1.5","unit":"cups","timestamp":1774490471000},"type":"ingredient","unit_systems":{"unit-system-1":{"amount":"1.5","unit":"cups","unitParsed":"cups"}}},{"uid":7,"amount":"4","unit":"large","name":"eggs","notes":"$0.78","unit_id":11947,"id":2427,"conversion_item_snapshot":{"amount":"4","unit":"large","timestamp":1774490471000},"type":"ingredient","unit_systems":{"unit-system-1":{"amount":"4","unit":"large","unitParsed":"large"}}},{"uid":8,"amount":"3\/4","unit":"cup","name":"lemon juice (about 4 lemons) + 1 Tbsp zest","notes":"$1.55","unit_id":11945,"id":12898,"conversion_item_snapshot":{"amount":"3\/4","unit":"cup","timestamp":1774490471000},"type":"ingredient","unit_systems":{"unit-system-1":{"amount":"3\/4","unit":"cup","unitParsed":"cup"}}},{"uid":9,"amount":"3\/4","unit":"cup","name":"all-purpose flour","notes":"$0.08","unit_id":11945,"id":1113,"conversion_item_snapshot":{"amount":"3\/4","unit":"cup","timestamp":1774490471000},"type":"ingredient","unit_systems":{"unit-system-1":{"amount":"3\/4","unit":"cup","unitParsed":"cup"}}},{"uid":11,"amount":"1 ","unit":"Tbsp","name":"powdered sugar","notes":"$0.02","unit_id":11943,"id":1330,"conversion_item_snapshot":{"amount":"1 ","unit":"Tbsp","timestamp":1774490471000},"type":"ingredient","unit_systems":{"unit-system-1":{"amount":"1 ","unit":"Tbsp","unitParsed":"Tbsp"}}}],"originalServings":"9","originalServingsParsed":9,"currentServings":"9","currentServingsParsed":9,"currentServingsFormatted":"9","currentServingsMultiplier":1,"originalSystem":1,"currentSystem":1,"unitSystems":[1],"originalAdvancedServings":{"shape":"round","unit":"inch","diameter":0,"width":0,"length":0,"height":0},"currentAdvancedServings":{"shape":"round","unit":"inch","diameter":0,"width":0,"length":0,"height":0},"collection":{"type":"recipe","recipeId":69515,"name":"Lemon Bars","image":"https:\/\/www.budgetbytes.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/08\/Lemon-Bars-stacked-380x380.jpg","servings":9,"servingsUnit":"","parent_id":"69498","parent_url":"https:\/\/www.budgetbytes.com\/lemon-bars\/","cachedAt":1774490471,"modifiedAt":1773675151}}}