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Monday, April 13, 2009

Lemon Bars

This recipe comes from Martha Stewart's "Baking" book. Many great recipes in that book, although sometimes things can be a little overly complicated. I melt chocolate in the microwave with no problem, where Martha would call for a double boiler. I highly recommend the book though, haven't found a dud recipe in it yet. This is the best lemon bar recipe I've ever had, although the crust is a little involved. You can mix it by hand with a pastry blender, but it would take forever. A food processor is really a must. You can use the lime called for in the recipe, or substitute with more lemon juice/zest.
I won a blue ribbon for these at the county fair (they don't care about the recipe, just the final result). These are real artery cloggers, so I don't make them very often!

  • FOR THE CRUST
  • 3 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
  • 1/2 cup wheat germ
  • 1/2 cup confectioners' sugar
  • 1/2 teaspoon salt
  • 1 pound (4 sticks) cold unsalted butter, cut into pieces
  • FOR THE FILLING
  • 8 large eggs
  • 4 cups granulated sugar
  • 2/3 cup all-purpose flour
  • 3/4 cup freshly squeezed lemon juice
  • 3/4 cup freshly squeezed lime juice
  • 1 tablespoon finely grated lemon zest
  • 1 tablespoon finely grated lime zest
  • 1/2 teaspoon salt

  1. To make the crust: Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. In a large bowl, whisk together 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.
  2. Press evenly into a 12 1/2-by-17 1/2-inch rimmed baking sheet. Bake until golden, 20 to 30 minutes. Transfer to a wire rack until completely cool.
  3. To make 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.
  4. Bake until center is set, about 30 minutes. Transfer to a wire rack until completely cool. Cut into 2-inch squares. Will keep, in an airtight container at room temperature, for up to 2 days.

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