I’m not sure how it happened, but it did—I’m getting a head start on Christmas 2014 and we are only 2 weeks into January 2014. See, I’ve always been accused of being a procrastinator. Then I realized while some of my friends are hanging on and finger-nailing their way through their annual resolve of trimming down and sipping green smoothies, I’m rolling my 2013 holiday slumber into 2014.
Sure it might be because I’m pregnant, so my Christmas tree is still up and the sign counting down until Christmas now reads 343 days, or it might be my new positive outlook that—I’m ahead of schedule, way ahead.
For those of you wondering why I don’t just have Matt and the little guy take it down, I can’t. I’m way too much of a control freak with that stuff. It’s not that I care how they pack it away. I know they will do a great job at that. But it’s the mess and the chaos of tearing it all down. And of course I can leave the house while this goes on, but again—I’m a control freak—I want to dictate how the chaos will unfold.
Yeah, I’m quite the pain.
Now without a proper segue for today’s food talk . . . .hey, how about these lemon bars? I’ve made a lot of lemon bars from various sources, including my very own, but this one from Ina Garten continues to be my favorite. It’s bright in flavor, strong but not too tart. The short bread crust holds up without crumbling into a sandy mess and not so stiff that it feels separate from the lemon filling. (Small note: Don’t use Meyer Lemons, regular ones are best. Meyer lemons in this recipe dulls the bright bold flavor that makes this recipe).
Lemon Bars
Ingredients
- Recipe from Ina Garten via Food Network
For the crust:
- 1/2 pound unsalted butter, at room temperature
- 1/2 cup granulated sugar
- 2 cups flour
- 1/8 teaspoon kosher salt
For the filling:
- 6 extra-large eggs at room temperature
- 3 cups granulated sugar
- 2 tablespoons grated lemon zest (4 to 6 lemons)
- 1 cup freshly squeezed lemon juice
- 1 cup flour
- Confectioners' sugar, for dusting
Instructions
Preparation: Heat the oven to 350 degrees F.
- To make crust: Cream the butter and sugar in a bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment until light and creamy. Add in flour and salt and mix on low until just combined. Dump the dough onto a well-floured board and gather into a ball. Flatten the dough with floured hands and press it into a 9 by 13 by 2-inch baking sheet, building up a 1/2-inch edge on all sides. Chill for at least 30 minutes. Bake crust for 15 to 20 minutes, until very lightly browned. Let cool on a wire rack. Leave the oven on.
- To make filling: In a bowl, whisk the eggs, sugar, lemon zest, lemon juice, and flour. Pour mixture over crust and bake for about 30 to 35 minutes or until the filling is set. Let cool to room temperature.
- Dust with confectioner sugar and cut to squares to preferred size.
They’re gorgeous and the third lemon bar recipe I’ve seen today! Jaclyn/cookingclassy & Joy The Baker both posted them! What are the odds. Yours are gorgeous and I would love a big square! 🙂 pinned
Yum! Lemons are all the rage, but then again when did I they ever go out of style?
So pretty and love the change to bright shots
These bars look so beautiful and crisp against the white.
I hate taking down the Christmas Tree – it’s always such a depressing chore. Far better to leave it up all year. Who says it can’t be Christmas in January?
Love these lemon bars, by the way.
I am drooling over both these bars and these photos! So in love with the light yellow against all the white…gorgeous!
Lemon bars are my total favorite dessert so I am alll about these!
We took our tree down on the weekend. There was glitter everywhere. WE’LL NEVER GET RID OF THE GLITTER. Just leave your tree up. (And eat lemon bars.)
This year I made the family put the tree and decorations away since I put most of it up. It was still kind of torturous since I’m a control freak too. Next time I should plan better and have a batch of these to distract me 😉
These are so pretty! I have never made or had lemon bars, but I think I need to give them a try! They look and sound perfect!
Oh and I am the same way. Major control freak.
Yum! I love lemon and your pictures always make things look amazing!
And I am way late to the party (missed that you were pregnant) so CONGRATULATIONS!!!!!
Naomi, these look so yummy! Your recipe calls for XL eggs, but I always use large. I tried to find an equivalent number of large eggs to use and found lots of answers. I’m thinking I should use 8 large in place of 6 xl but just wondering if you could advise.
Thanks!!
Love these photos Naomi! lemon bars are always in style!
I so want some of these lemon bars!
Seriously YUM! I need these in my life! They are gorgeous and totally make me think of spring, which in the midst of winter, is completely perfect!
Have not made lemon bars in 30 years. Need to make them again and yours look and sound good.
Woah – Christmas 2014?! And to think I actually felt semi-accomplished for starting Valentines Day recipe planning already. I WISH I was that far ahead.
Your lemon bars look gorgeous and your photos are so fresh, bright, and, as always, beautifully composed!
I have to take down my decorations too!! These look perfect!
Oh so delicious!!
Cannot get over how gorgeous these photos are. I’m definitely a procrastinator when it comes to getting recipes up by the holidays, haha. 🙂 These lemon bars look amazing and I’d eat them all year long!
Wow, these look gorgeous, Naomi! Do you think it’s possible to cut the amount of sugar in the filling, or would that make it too sour?
Lemon bars are the best for brightening up your day. One of my favorites for sure.
Lemon bars might be one of my very favorite desserts. That intense lemon filling just can’t be beat!
You can always spot an Ina recipe by the extra large eggs. Ahhhh, Ina!
That’s okay. These bars looks absolutely perfect and I have been craving something bright and lemony. Nice tip about avoiding Meyer lemons for this recipe. That totally makes sense!
P.S. My Christmas tree is still up as well. I have zero excuses on my end 😉
My tree is up to, so we can be embarrassed together!!! Bars look so delicious!
Yum!
LOVE these Naomi! Classic and delicious!!
These are perfect Naomi! My craving for something citrusy started during the week-end with my easy lemon bars, but these surely satisfy it too! They look awesome!
Oh Naomi, these will get me into trouble for sure! They look gorgeous!
These are the prettiest lemon bars I’ve seen so far!
These do look yummy and tasty!
Any news on the Nespresso giveaway? 🙂
I love lemon bars, these are gorgeous!
Well, I’m pregnant too, and I think you should be very proud of making and photographing these lemon bars! That feels like a much greater achievement than dealing with a Christmas tree in any case. And I can probably justify eating a lot of them for the Vitamin C, right?
Ina’s Lemon Bars ROCK!
I am so very impressed that you have your tree up with so many days left before Christmas. Won’t you be the envy of everyone come November!
Beautiful photos! I can just imagine how wonderfully lemony they taste. They also look surprisingly easy to make. In the UK we have a version of this called ‘lemon meringue pie’ with peaked meringues on top. Do you have this too?
These bars look soooooooo good! I’m crazy about lemon pie – I just might give your recipe a try. Thanks!!
I don’t think there is anything more tempting to me than a good lemon bar. These are gorgeous!!
Ina Garten is a god damn genius. Her food is always simple but perfect.
And I think that you have every right to procrastinate, who cares when the tree comes down, you’re growing a human in your guts!
So pretty. I just love the way you incorporate text into your photos, in such an unobtrusive way. 🙂
These look amazing! Lemon Bars are the first thing I go to for a bakery treat but I’ve never actually tried my hand at making them. I won’t be waiting until xmas to give these ones a go though 🙂
I would love to make these tomorrow but I can’t see the recipe. Where is it?
Wow, Naomi! These lemon bars look absolutely succulent! The way you describe them makes me want to start baking immediately. Unfortunately, I’m a college student who has a microwave as my only electronic heating appliance. However, I won’t let that stop me when I go home for spring break! I especially like how precise each lemon bar turned out. It looks as though cutting into them was the easiest part…that only makes me wonder how deliciously perfect it would be to bite into one of those zesty little bars!
Hi Lisa the recipe should be back up now!
I love lemon, these look so good. Will definitely be trying this recipe soon!
What if I don’t have XL eggs? How many L eggs should I use instead?
hi
but should the filling have a lemon curd texture??
My bars are in the oven as we speak…So far they’ve been baking for 38 mins now and the center is still moving a bit and the edges are beginning to brown. Can you please advise as to whether this is normal or not? If it is not, then where did I go wrong? Thanks!
i much prefer using Meyer Lemons, they add such sweet herbatiousness.
Hello there!
May I know which oven setting to use (e.g. Top bottom, bottom fan, fan)? 🙂
Many thanks,
Rachel
super post
Thank you so much for such a nice dish….. I am notice all True Healing Self Healing the recipe on the notebook and in the evening i should be prepare at home
Hello,
So pretty. I just love the way you incorporate text into your photos, in such an unobtrusive way 🙂