If you need a dessert for a potluck, lemon bars might be the answer. A classic treat, lemon bars are both tart and sweet. They’re also easy to make in large quantities and cut into small pieces for sharing. While it might seem intimidating to make them from scratch, the process is simple and the ingredients are relatively inexpensive. Here is all the info you’ll need to make delicious lemon bars for your next potluck:
Ingredients
This dessert has two key parts: the crust and the topping. For the crust, you’ll need:
1 3/4 cup of all purpose flour
1/4 cup of cornstarch
1 tsp of salt
1 cup of Confectioners’ sugar
2 sticks of unsalted butter
And for the lemon topping, you’ll need:
6 large lemons
3 cups of granulated sugar
2 tbsp of lemon zest
2/3 cup of freshly squeezed lemon juice
2/3 cup of all purpose flour
Process
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.
- Use heavy-duty aluminum foil to cover a metal baking pan. Grease the foil with vegetable oil or nonstick cooking spray.
- Mix up the flour, cornstarch, salt and confectioners’ sugar in a bowl. You can mix the dry ingredients either by hand or with a mixer.
- Using a mixer, add in the butter and blend. The ideal crust texture is coarse, so you only need to blend it for about 10 seconds.
- Add the mixture into the baking pan in an even layer. Use your hands or a flat utensil to flatten the crust into the bottom of the pan, leaving a slightly higher edge to the crust along the sides.
- Once the crust is fully settled, bake for about 20 minutes.
- In a large bowl, combine eggs, sugar, lemon juice, lemon zest and the additional flour. Blend until perfectly smooth.
- Pour the lemon mixture over the top of the freshly baked crust and immediately put the pan back into the oven for 30 minutes or until the topping is firm.
- When done baking, use the aluminum foil to remove the bars from the pan and place on a room temperature cooling rack.
- Once cooled, the bars should separate easily from the foil. Use a knife to cut into the desired sizes and shapes and dust the tops with the extra confectioners’ sugar.
This recipe yields about 20 servings, but you can adjust it for the size of your group. Regardless, you’ll be the star of the potluck with these delicious homemade lemon bars.
About the Author
Judy Szablak
With over 30 years in the industry, Realtor Judy Szablak has been on national television for her real estate expertise on the HGTV Network, featured on Martha Stewart Living Radio "Morning Living” , NPR radio as an expert real estate panelist, It’s Relevant News channel, and quoted in the Wall Street Journal for her in depth knowledge of Fairfield County Connecticut real estate.
She was also on the local NPR radio station (WSHU) as a Fairfield County CT real estate expert. Judy has provided multiple online respected news sources with her real estate expertise including The Daily Easton, The Daily Weston, The Daily Fairfield, The Daily Stamford and The Daily Greenwich, as well as in print in the New York Post. She is a weekly Real Estate Columnist for WestportNow.com, another real estate column "Real Estate With Judy” is syndicated through Hearst CT Media Online and seen in The Connecticut Post, The Danbury News-Times, The Stamford Advocate, The Greenwich Time, The Hour, Fairfield Citizen, Westport News, Darien News, New Canaan News and the Wilton Villager.
Judy is also the author of the book, The Art of Buying or Selling a Home, available at all major book retailers. Additionally, Judy has been nationally recognized in a number of national real estate trade magazines, some with distribution to over 1 million members. She was featured in Real Estate Today as early as 1994 for her commitment to, and implementation of technology in real estate. Judy appeared in the Certified Residential Specialist Magazine, as she provided advice on marketing strategies and ethics in the article titled "Marketing Makeovers.”
Judy was also featured in REALTOR® Magazine, regarding image enhancement for Realtors. She was again featured in REALTOR® Magazine, in an article on "Achieving Flow” and operating at optimal peak performance. In another article in the same publication, Judy offered guidance to fellow real estate professionals as she explored the topic of implementing and maintaining personal websites. She has appeared in The Council of Residential Specialists Magazine, which featured her ideas regarding technology. Additionally, Judy authored an article on marketing and technology for the Certified Residential Specialist (CRS) Online Magazine. On two occasions, in 2015 and 2017, she appeared as a featured agent in Top Agent Magazine. I have a few other websites- www.TheCtrealtyBlog.com www.CtHomesAndRealEstate.com www.BestWestportHomes.com www.ThePetitePowerhouse.com www,SzablakConsulting.com
