I love lemon – especially lemon bars. The crust, the filling – they are perfect in every way.
I decided to try something a little different with my recipe – I bruleed the top, much like you would a creme brulee. I was looking for a little crunch and I think it adds something nice and unexpected to your traditional lemon bar.
ingredients:
1 cup butter
1/2 cup powdered sugar
2 cups flour
1/4 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon vanilla
filling ingredients:
4 eggs
1-3/4 cup sugar
1/4 cup flour
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
3/4 cup lemon juice
1 Tablespoon lemon zest
sugar
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Grease a 9×13 baking pan.
In a bowl, stir together the flour, baking powder and salt. Set aside. In a mixing bowl, cream the butter and powdered sugar. Slowly add the flour mixture until combined to a nice dough. Pat the dough into the greased baking pan, and prick with a fork.
Bake for 12-15 minutes until just golden around the edges.
When it comes to lemons,I like to use fresh lemons, and 3/4 cup is approx. 6 medium sized lemons. I always strain it after I’ve juiced them, not only to avoid seeds, but I like to get rid of some of that heavy pulp too. Make sure you measure your 3/4 cup after you’ve strained it.
I also like to use a microplane to zest right into the sugar. It makes the sugar pick up that lemon scent and sort of mixes even better throughout the bars.
Meanwhile, whisk together the eggs, sugar, flour, baking powder, lemon juice and zest. Pour this mixture over the hot crust. Return it to the oven for about 20-23 minutes.
Then sprinkle the top with sugar, alllllll over. Then quickly stick it under your broiler until you get that nice bubbly brulee. Try not to burn the house down.
Let it cool, then cut into squares. I love the crunch of the sugar on top and the crust should be crisp, not soggy. A fun variation on lemon bars.
Kid's lunches, simple dinners and a whole lot of geeky baking.
have you ever heard of claim jumpers? they have a delicious lemon bar brulee? fabulous.
thanks for the recipe!
These are in the oven now! Then we’ll brulee the top and give you our final verdict.
Verdict: Troy, Brenda and I thought they were delicious!
Bethany mentioned these and I had to come check em out. My mouth is watering, I must make them!!
Now just to find fresh lemons…
I am always on the hunt for the perfect lemon bar! And I am addicted to brulee. My thighs are toast!
I LOVE lemon bars, and I’ve been craving them all week, so this was the perfect new recipe to try! I love how the brulee on top adds some extra crunch, it’s perfect!
I ran out of lemons, so I used one lime to round it out. Tastes great, but did I do something wrong? It ended up having sort of all the eggs on top, like a thin layer of omelette! Do you have any idea what could’ve cause this? Thanks!
I forgot to mention: in your filling ingredients you list baking powder, but don’t say to mix it in the instructions. Is it supposed to be in there, or not…? I did put it in, so I’m wondering if that was the problem.
@Erin
I’ve never had that problem. What size eggs are you using? I usually stick to large.
You are supposed to mix the baking powder in, that was my mistake in the instructions, but it was in the ingredient list.
Yes, I used large eggs. I don’t know…maybe I over whisked it? Or, maybe the sugar granules were too big. I’ve been using a cheaper brand of sugar lately, and I noticed that the granules are noticeably chunkier. Thanks for responding, Jenn.
In your directions, what does 3/4 lemon juice mean? Do you mean 3/4 cup lemon juice, 3/4 of a lemon?
PLEASE CORRECT RECIPE. I am eager to reproduce the one advertised by Norm Thompson’s catalog.
@Cornelia
It’s 3/4 cup, it says so in the directions. The ingredients has been adjusted. Thanks.