Luscious Lemon Bars

I love anything lemony. No flavor feels more spring-like: sunny, fresh and bright! And after a couple of gray days here in self-quarantine, I needed something sweet and tart to lift the spirits. So, I decided to make lemon bars!

I’d been wanting to try the whole lemon bar recipe from Deb Perelman’s The Smitten Kitchen cookbook. The recipe is so easy because it uses a whole lemon (sans the seeds), supplements with everyday pantry ingredients, and only uses one kitchen tool. No extra trip to the store, no piles of dishes to wash… what’s not to love about an easy recipe for an admittedly lazy cook?

The whole of this recipe can be completed in the bowl of your food processor. You don’t need to spend time zesting and juicing multiple lemons because you just use one. And you use all of it – the zest, the skin and the flesh. After mixing it with sugar, butter, eggs, salt, and a bit of cornstarch, it bakes into a smooth layer of lemon custard.

At first, I wasn’t sure how the bars would taste with the whole lemon in there, as pith is notoriously bitter, but the amount of sugar made the taste just right. The bars were the perfect balance of tart, sweet and buttery, with a creamy texture and a thick shortbread crust that caramelizes around the edges. Yum!

Enjoy!

WHOLE LEMON BARS

INGREDIENTS

For the Crust:

• 1 cup all-purpose flour
• ⅓ cup sugar
• ¼ teaspoon table salt
• 8 tablespoons (1 stick) unsalted butter, cut into chunks, plus extra for greasing pan

For the Filling:

• 1 small-to-medium-sized lemon (about 4½ ounces, or approx. 3 inches long)
• 1⅓ cups sugar
• 8 tablespoons (1 stick) unsalted butter, cut into chunks
• 4 large eggs
• 2 tablespoons cornstarch
• ¼ teaspoon table salt

INSTRUCTIONS

1. Place a rack in middle of the oven and preheat your oven to 350 degrees. Cut two 12- inch lengths of parchment paper, and trim each to fit the bottom of an 8- inch square baking pan. Press the first sheet into the bottom and up the sides of your pan in one direction, then use the second sheet to line the rest of the pan, running it perpendicular to the first sheet. Lightly butter or spray the exposed parts of parchment. Set the pan aside.
2. Make the crust. Blend the flour, sugar, and salt together in the work bowl of a food processor. Add the butter and pulse until the mixture is powdery, but if firmly pinched, will hold together. Turn the dough crumbs into the prepared baking pan and press the dough evenly across the bottom and about ½ inch up the sides. Prick the dough all over with a fork and bake for 20 minutes, or until lightly browned. Should any parts bubble up, gently prick them again with a fork. Leave the oven on.
3. Check your lemon. Before using your lemon, you have to do a test to make sure the inside white part of the lemon peel (called the pith) isn't too thick. You don’t want your bars to be bitter! Cut your lemon in half and take a peek at the pith. If the widest part of the white is ¼ inch thick or less, your lemon is good to go. If any part of it is thicker than ¼ inch, remove the peel & pith from half of the lemon and discard.
4. Make the filling. Cut your lemon into thin rings and discard any seeds. Toss the lemon rounds in the bowl of your food processor, add the sugar, and run the machine until the lemon is thoroughly puréed, about 2 minutes. Add the butter and again run the machine until the mixture is smooth, scraping down the sides of the work bowl as needed. Add the eggs, cornstarch, and salt and pulse the machine in short bursts until the mixture is evenly combined.
5. Pour the lemon mixture over the crust and bake it for 35 to 40 minutes, or until the filling is set, slightly jiggly and a bit golden on top.
6. Let the pan cool completely on rack or in the fridge. Gently cut around the outside of the parchment paper to make sure no sides have stuck, then gently use the parchment lift the bars onto a cutting board and cut into squares.

   Recipe from The Smitten Kitchen Cookbook by Deb Perelman (2012).