Lemon Bars

 

The weather has been lovely. The kiddie pool is out, actually used as a pool with "real water" instead of a makeshift tent with blankets and pillows. Time to ditch the jackets and the boy is so happy he can finally wear sleeveless shirts. Somehow, summer days make me think of lemon bars. Perhaps it's the lemon, with its yellow, sunshine-y color, resembles an oval sun. Or it's just me trying to find an excuse to share this lemon bars with you through my blog...

I'd never thought I would love fruity baked goods. But lemon bars are different. To me, it's like eating sour brownies with shortbread base. Darn it, you know what? I'll just be honest with you. I love the shortbread base so much, sometimes I scrape off the lemon curd, save it for later, and just eat the cookie part. Not that the curd isn't tasty, I'm just that kind of a weirdo. I will also say, that the curd is so chewy, I wanna marry it.

Lemon bars (recipe courtesy of How to Cook Everything by Mark Bittman)

Ingredients:

• 1 stick unsalted butter, softened
• 1 1/4 cups sugar
• 1 cup all-purpose flour, plus 2 tbsp 
• 2 eggs
• 2 tbsp lemon juice (I use 4 tbsp because I want it more sour)
• 1/2 tsp baking soda
• Grated zest of 1 lemon
• Confectioners' sugar

 Preheat oven to 350F. Line an 8-inch square baking pan with either foil or parchment paper and grease it.

Cream the butter with the 1/4 cup of sugar. Stir in one cup of flour. Press the mixture into the greased pan and bake for 15 minutes. Remove from the oven and let it cool slightly.

Beat together the eggs, lemon juice, baking soda, remaining sugar and flour, and the zest. Pour over the crust and bake until firm on the edges but still a little soft in the middle for another 20 minutes. Let cool, sprinkle with confectioners' sugar and cut into squares.