Meyer Lemon Bars

Greetings!

I've become quite enchanted by Meyer Lemons lately, they're less sour than a regular lemon, and have a unique flavor that I have fallen in love with! They are wonderful when sliced thin and added to tea, and even more delightful when used in recipes such as this one... and then served with tea!

This recipe is a recipe that came from joyofbaking.com originally, and was posted to my tea group as a recipe to try... and am I glad I did. Of course, I substituted Meyer Lemons in the recipe so I altered the recipe slightly for the change up in lemons, as well as some improvements that I felt the recipe needed. Before trying this recipe, the only lemon bars I had made were from a mix, and let me tell you, if you liked the bars from the mix, you're going to LOVE making them from scratch! So much better! No contest! Even if you don't like the bars from the mix... try them from scratch, you won't be disappointed! Yummy!!!

Meyer Lemon Bars

Crust:
1 stick unsalted butter, room temperature
1/4 cup powdered sugar
1 cup unbleached, all purpose flour
1/8 tsp salt

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Spray an 8x8 square (or similar) pan with non-stick spray. In the bowl of your mixer, cream butter until fluffy, and then add the sugar, creaming the two together until very light and fluffy. Add flour and salt, and mix until the dough comes together.

Press dough into square pan, working up the edges a little.

Bake about 20 minutes, until edges start to become golden brown. Remove crust from oven, and allow to cool slightly while you work on the filling.

Filling: (note: wash lemons, and remove zest before juicing the lemons. Only remove the zest, not the white pith)
1 cup granulated sugar
3 large eggs
1/8 tsp salt
Zest & Juice from 4 Meyer Lemons
2 tbsp unbleached, all purpose flour

In a clean bowl of your mixer, beat together the sugar and the eggs until light and the sugar has dissolved. Add the salt and the zest and juice from the lemons, and mix until blended. (Note: the zest from the lemons tends to cling to the beaters, so, be sure to clean them off well with a rubber spatula). Fold in the flour.

Pour filling over the slightly cooled crust, and put into the oven for 20 minutes, or until the center is set. I usually turn the oven off after the 20 minutes, and allow the pan to sit in the oven for another 5 minutes to ensure a set custard.

Remove the bars from the oven, and allow to cool.

Sprinkle cooled bars with a little confectioners sugar or with a little extra lemon zest, if desired.

Cut into bars, and serve. The crust is a bit crumbly, so be careful getting that first bar out!

Hope you'll try this recipe... let me know how yours turn out! I've made this recipe twice now, and my family devours them! Make them an extra special treat by serving them with some of your favorite tea!

~Anne