Lemon Bars

My running/jogging buddy, Mekala, happens to have a rather magical and prolific lemon tree in her backyard, so she decided to bring me some one day.  I converted them into lemon bars, gave some to her and her family as a thank you, and received the following text: “Hey, by the way, you’re getting more lemons. My family loves them! It was delicious!”

This is how my lemon supply was born. :P

Recipe adapted from smittenkitchen.

Lemon Bars

Ingredients:
(Crust)
-1 3/4 cups unsalted butter, room temperature
-1/2-ish cup sugar
-2-ish cups flour
-1/8 tsp salt

(Lemon Layer)
-5 eggs, room temperature
-1 2/3 cups sugar
-1 tbsp + 1 tsp grated lemon zest
-2/3 cups freshly squeezed lemon juice
-2/3 cup flour
-confectioner’s sugar (for dusting)

Instructions:
1) Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
2) Cream butter and sugar together and mix until light. If you’re like me and you don’t own an electric mixer, this is the time to build your forearm strength and/or endurance. I used a fork.
3) Mix in flour and salt. Roll into a ball and flatten into 9×13 in. baking pan.
4) Bake crust for 15-20 minutes. Let cool.
5) Whisk together eggs, flour, sugar, lemon zest. Pour over the crust and bake for ~30 minutes, or about 5 minutes beyond the point where the filling is set. Let cool to room temperature.
6) Dust with confectioner’s sugar. Cut into triangles (or rectangles…).