Homemade Lemon Bars Recipe- easy to make and delicious! Enjoy this refreshing lemon bars recipe that’s prefect for dessert or a fun treat!
After my first bite of these I thought to myself, “these are dangerous- I need to give these to my husband to take to work ASAP!” These lemon bars are that good- that if I didn’t give them away, I would’ve eaten them all!
I love lemon! Lemonade, Lemon Cupcakes, and these delicious lemon squares! So good!
There is something so refreshing about food with lemon in it- or any citrus really.
Everything from the crust to the delicious gooey lemony filling to the powdered sugar on top makes these lemon bars perfect!
How to make lemon bars:
- Combine the crust ingredients in medium sized bowl
- Press crust into a baking dish that has been sprayed with non-stick baking spray
- Bake the crust for 20 minutes or until the edges turn golden brown
- Mix together all the ingredients for the filling and then pour onto baked crust
- Bake again for another 26 minutes or until the filling is set
- Allow to cool and then sprinkle with powdered sugar
- Enjoy!
Do I have to use real lemon juice? Can I use store bough lemon juice for this lemon bar recipe?
I do recommend using real lemons for these lemon squares. It adds lemon flavor that is really needed to make these the best lemon bars ever.
Also adding lemon zest into the filling gives it more flavor as well.
What kind of lemons do you recommend?
You can use any lemon you’d like. Meyer’s lemons are known to be a little sweeter if that’s what you are wanting.
Why do I need to bake the crust first?
You bake the crust before adding the filling in order to prevent the crust from getting soggy. If you don’t prebake the crust you will have a mushy mess and no one wants that!
Can I use other citrus juice from a lemon or grapefruit?
Absolutely!
Let me know if the comments below what other desserts you love that have lemon or other citrus flavors in them!
If you like this recipe make sure to check out these other tasty treats:
- Grapefruit Cupcakes
- Homemade Brownies
- Double Chocolate Pudding Cookies
- Caramel Pear Pie
- Butterfly Cookies
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Lemon Bars Recipe
Ingredients
Crust
- 1 cup flour
- ¼ cup powdered sugar
- Pinch of salt
- ½ cup unsalted butter melted
- 1 tsp vanilla
Filling
- 1 cup sugar
- 3 tbs flour
- 3 eggs
- ½ cup lemon juice fresh (3-4 lemons worth)
- 1 tbs lemon zest optional
- Powdered sugar for garnish
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350°F and spray an 8x8 baking dish with nonstick cooking spray.
- Combine all the ingredients for the crust, mixing thoroughly until you have a dough. (1 cup flour, ¼ cup powdered sugar, pinch of salt, ½ cup melted butter, and 1 tsp vanilla)
- Press the dough into the bottom of the prepared baking dish, making sure to cover the entire bottom of the dish and the dough is spread out evenly.
- Bake the dough for 20 minutes or just until the edges start to brown.
- While dough is baking, combine all the ingredients for the for the filling in a medium sized mixing bowl. (1 cup sugar, 3 tbs flour, 3 eggs, ½ cup lemon juice, 1 tbs lemon zest)
- Pour filling into baked crust. Bake for 26-28 minutes or until the center of the lemon bars is set and doesn’t jiggle.
- Remove from oven and let cool completely.
- Sprinkle with powdered sugar, cut, and enjoy!
Looks awesome lemon bars are my favorite
Can’t wait to try it
Awesome! Let me know how you like them!
I exactly copied the recipe but the taste was unsatisfactory and unusual.
I’m sorry to hear that. I’ve always had people love the recipe. Good luck on your future bakes!
Sweet, salty and tart with the lemon. Looks like they have it all. I need to try making these!
Yes for sure!
These are exactly like my grandma used to make. Absolutely the best!
Yay! I am so glad you like them!
These lemon bars looking amazing. I had been waiting to try them. Bookmarking the page to make it. I loved the clicks.
Thanks! Hope you enjoy them!
These lemon bars are always a hit and one of my son’s fave’s! Great recipe
Yay! That makes my day!
This recipe was absolutely amazing ! I really suggest it if your looking to do something more challenging but are still a beginner cook. This recipe was very well explained and tasted delicious !!!
You are the best! So glad you loved it!
This recipe is amazing ! So very well explained and delicious I really recommend it !
Yay! I am so glad you enjoyed it!
I’ve always eaten these and never made them till now. These came out amazing!!! I did choose not to do the lemon zest (I was lazy) and they still were great. Definitely wanna try it with the zest next time!
Yay! Thank you so much for telling me! I am so happy you enjoyed them!
I followed the recipe, they turned out great! Tasted great and looked great too. 👍 I used a larger pan than the recipe called for so they were a little thinner than I would’ve liked.
Yay! So glad you enjoyed them!
I love, love, love lemon bars this was my first time doing them with my 9 years old son. We followed the recipe and They turned out delicious!!!! So sad we can’t attach a picture but I can assure you they look fantastic!!
This makes me so happy! I am so glad you guys enjoyed them! You can always tag me @atablefullofjoy on instagram if you post a picture there! I’d love to see them!
These were delicious and super easy! Served them at a small get together and they were finished in no time. Definitely making them again. Do they have to be stored in the refrigerator as I want to make them the day before?
Yay! So glad you enjoyed them! Yes, I would definitely refrigerate them and you might want to sprinkle with powdered sugar right before serving, otherwise it will disappear overnight from the moisture in the bars.
I made this two times already and love it . Very easy to make and mess free. If you want to join the cozy fall movement try it, plate it nicely and enjoy it with your family. Thanks to the author❤️.
I am so glad you enjoyed these! They are definitely a favorite for me too!
Is the filling very liquid when you add to crust? Mine is! Hope it works.
Yep 🙂 It will be liquidy. You can see in the video what it looks like.
I was short an egg after starting. Still turned out great! Was just what I was craving
Oooh good to know! And I am so glad! Thank you for leaving a comment!
Hi, thank you for sharing these are fab! Do you have any suggestions on storage please and how long they will keep. Thank you again
I like to store in the refrigerate and eat within a few days. I typically cover the dish with seran wrap or place the bars in a zip loc baggie then refrigerate 🙂
This is by far the best lemon bar recipe i have ever made. I will always use this recipe. Yummy!!
Thank you! I am so glad you like it!