Bruleed Lemon Bars
Lemonheads, Frozen Lemonade, Lemon Cake, I love lemon anything and everything which is why you’ll find over 30 lemon recipes on this site. If I had to choose my most favorite lemony thing of all it would have to be lemon bars.
Growing up we had a lemon tree in the backyard and my mom would use them to make fresh lemon bars. I always looked forward to that first bite of shortbread crust and lemon curd filling.
Hers had the traditional shake of powdered sugar on top but I decided to try something a little different. I used granulated sugar and bruleed the top of the bars, much like you would a creme brulee. The caramelized sugar adds a little crunch and adds a nice unexpected texture to a traditional lemon bar.
Bruleed Lemon Bars
Ingredients:
crust ingredients:
1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, softened
1/2 cup powdered sugar
1/2 teaspoon vanilla
2 cups all-purpose flour
1/4 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
filling ingredients:
4 large eggs
1-3/4 cups sugar
1/4 cup all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
3/4 cup lemon juice
1 Tablespoon lemon zest
sugar for caramelizing
Instructions:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Prep a 9×13 baking pan by greasing it with melted butter.
In a bowl whisk together the flour, baking powder, and salt. Set aside.
In the bowl of an electric mixer, cream the butter and powdered sugar.
Stir in the vanilla.
Slowly add the flour mixture until combined. Pat the dough into the prepped baking pan, prick with a fork.
Bake for 15-18 minutes, until just golden around the edges.
In a bowl whisk together eggs, sugar, flour, baking powder, lemon juice, and zest.
Pour over the hot crust and return to the oven for 20-25 minutes.
Sprinkle sugar over the top, covering completely. Place the pan under a hot broiler for 1-2 minutes, until bruleed.
Let it cool and cut into squares.
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.
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.
I just want to thank you for this recipe. I’ve made them about 10 times in the past couple of years and receive much praise. In fact, I made them as part of a new year’s dinner and brought some down to the doormen on duty in my apartment building. They asked for the recipe, so I gave them your website. Thank you again for an original recipe.