Lemon bars
| Serves | 16 |
|---|---|
| Time | 1 h 10 min |
| Per serving | 265 kcal (4245 for the batch) |
| Contains | dairy, wheat, gluten, egg |
| Contributed by | Marta O., Fair Oaks |
| Tags | dessert · baking · citrus |
| Calories are computed from the ingredient records. Approximate. | |
Description
A press-in shortbread base and a filling that sets to a clean, shining custard. Four lemons’ worth of zest is not a typo.
Ingredients
| Quantity | Ingredient | Its job here | Swaps |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 cup | Butter, cold, cubed | cutin | 5 options |
| 2 cups | All-purpose flour | structure | 1 option |
| 1 3/4 cups | Granulated sugar, divided: ½ cup for the crust | sweet | 2 options |
| 1/4 tsp | Kosher salt | season | none |
| 4 | Eggs | leaven | 2 options |
| 4 | Lemons, zest and juice (about ¾ cup juice) | zest | 1 option |
Instructions
- Heat the oven to 350°F and line a 9×13 pan with parchment.
- Rub the cold butter into the flour, ½ cup sugar and salt until it holds together when squeezed. Press into the pan and bake 18–20 minutes, until pale gold at the edges.
- Whisk the eggs with the remaining 1¼ cups sugar, the zest and the juice until smooth. Pour over the hot crust.
- Bake 20–22 minutes, until the center no longer jiggles. Cool completely, then chill an hour before cutting.
Substitutions for this recipe
Rules come from each ingredient's record and are resolved for the job the ingredient does in this recipe. Confidence is the community's, not a guarantee.
| Instead of | Use | How much | What changes | Confidence |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Butter | Coconut oil | 1 cup (× 1) | One-for-one. Chill it first if the recipe creams; use refined to avoid coconut flavor. ⚠ Labeled as a tree nut by the FDA; check with anyone who avoids tree nuts. |
●●○ medium |
| Butter | Greek yogurt | replace half the butter with the same volume of yogurt | Replaces half the butter with an equal volume of Greek yogurt. Denser, tangier, fewer calories. ⚠ Quick breads only. Do not use in cookies, shortbread, crusts, or pans. |
●○○ low |
| Butter | Margarine | 1 cup (× 1) | Works in a crust; slightly less flaky. rule for: cutin | ●●● high |
| Butter | Olive oil | 3/4 cup (× 0.75) | Cannot be cut into flour. The crust becomes a press-in oil crust: crisper, less flaky. ⚠ Oil cannot be creamed. Where the recipe creams butter and sugar, the texture changes a lot. rule for: cutin |
●○○ low |
| Butter | Vegetable shortening | 1 cup (× 1) | Taller, softer cookies and flakier crusts, but no butter flavor. Add ⅛ tsp salt per ½ cup. ⚠ Flavor loss is obvious in shortbread and pound cake. |
●●● high |
| All-purpose flour | Gluten-free flour blend | 2 cups (× 1) | One-for-one with a blend that includes xanthan gum. Rest the batter 30 minutes. Crumb is more delicate; cookies are a bit sandier. ⚠ For yeast breads a blend is not enough; that needs a different recipe. |
●●○ medium |
| Granulated sugar | Honey | 1 1/3 cups (× 0.75) | Use ¾ the volume. Reduce other liquid by 3 tbsp per cup of honey, add ¼ tsp baking soda per cup, and lower the oven 25°F: honey browns fast. ⚠ Never for infants under one year. |
●●○ medium |
| Granulated sugar | Maple syrup | 1 1/3 cups (× 0.75) | Use ¾ the volume and reduce other liquid by 3 tbsp per cup of syrup. Milder browning than honey; flavor shows in quick breads. | ●●○ medium |
| Egg | Applesauce | ¼ cup applesauce per egg | Eggs are doing structural work here; applesauce will not hold it. ⚠ Not recommended for this recipe. rule for: leaven |
●○○ low |
| Egg | Ground flaxseed | 1 tbsp ground flax + 3 tbsp water per egg | This recipe relies on eggs for lift or set. Flax will bind but the result will be dense or loose. ⚠ Not recommended where eggs set a custard (lemon bar filling) or carry a cake. rule for: leaven |
●○○ low |
| Lemon | Bottled lemon juice (Lemon) | 4 (× 1) | Bottled juice stands in for the juice (3 tbsp per lemon). Nothing stands in for the zest, which carries the aroma. ⚠ This recipe is built on zest. Bottled juice will taste flat and slightly metallic. rule for: zest |
●○○ low |