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When it comes to desserts, we usually prefer chocolatey over fruity, with a few exceptions – this lemon bars recipe being one of them!
Did anyone else grow up eating lemon bars? It’s one of those treats that grandmothers are notorious for making. Or is it just us? Regardless, this is one of our FAVORITE recipes!!! Bars are perfect for any occasion, from potlucks to fancy dinner parties.
Picture this: Moist, buttery shortbread crust with a sweet, yet perfectly tart lemon filling, topped with a generous amount of powdered sugar. Are you drooling yet?
There’s something about the lemony flavor that makes these bars easy to eat. They’re not overly sweet or rich – they’re kind of refreshing rather than heavy!
But don’t take our word for it. Whip up a batch and see for yourself!
If you love these lemon squares, you’ll also love our Lemon Cupcakes, Lemon Lasagna, and Lemon Blossoms
Why we think you’ll love it:
- Fresh fruit flavor. We love the bright lemon flavor! It’s refreshing and delicious.
- 10 minutes of prep. The shortbread crust is simple, and the filling is a breeze making this one of our best-loved easy desserts!
- Freezable! These can be enjoyed at room temperature or chilled. They can even be frozen for longer storage – perfect for making ahead of time.
Lemon Bar Ingredients And Substitutions
Crust
- 1 cup unsalted butter, room temperature
- 2 cups all-purpose flour
- ½ cup powdered sugar – sifted
- ½ teaspoon salt
Lemon Layer
- 4 eggs – Room temperature eggs incorporate better than cold eggs.
- 5-6 tablespoons lemon juice – For fresh lemon juice you’ll need 2 medium-sized lemons, or you can use bottled lemon juice.
- 1¾ cups granulated sugar
- ⅓ cup all-purpose flour – see How to Measure Flour
- powdered sugar for topping – Powdered sugar is a classic topping but you can also use a lemon glaze or a layer of lemon frosting.
How to Make Lemon Bars
- PREP. Preheat the oven to 375°F. Grease a 9×13-inch glass baking dish and set aside.
- CRUST. In a medium bowl, mix butter, flour, powdered sugar, and salt with a pastry cutter or spatula. Pat the mixture into the prepared dish.
- Bake for 20 minutes. Make sure to not let it brown.
- LEMON LAYER. While the crust is baking, blend eggs, lemon juice, granulated sugar, and flour in a medium bowl with a hand mixer until frothy, about 30 seconds. Pour over warm crust.
- Bake for an additional 22–24 minutes. Bars are done when the edges begin to turn golden brown and the middle is set and does not wobble.
- SERVE. Let cool completely in the pan. Sift powdered sugar over the top before cutting into squares.
Kristyn’s Recipe Tips
- We prefer fresh-squeezed lemon juice, and sometimes we include 1-2 teaspoons lemon zest for extra lemon flavor.
- If you overcook your lemon bars, they will curdle, look eggy, and end up with more of a grainy texture. Make sure to take them out of the oven as soon as the middle is set.
- Don’t worry if air bubbles appear. They are common and get covered with the delicious powdered sugar topping.
- We often garnish each lemon square with a sliver of fresh lemon or add fresh berries (raspberry, blueberry, strawberry) to each square.
- For clean, even slices, we like to bake our bars in a parchment paper-lined pan. Once baked and cooled, lift out completely. Dip a chef’s knife in hot water, wipe off the water, and then slice.
Lemon Bars Recipe
Ingredients
Crust
- 1 cup unsalted butter, room temperature
- 2 cups all-purpose flour
- ½ cup powdered sugar
- ½ teaspoon salt
Lemon Layer
- 4 eggs
- 5-6 tablespoons lemon juice
- 1¾ cups granulated sugar
- ⅓ cup all-purpose flour
- powdered sugar, for topping
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 375°F. Grease a 9×13-inch glass baking dish and set aside.
- In a medium bowl, mix butter, flour, powdered sugar, and salt with a pastry cutter or spatula. Pat the mixture into the prepared dish.
- Bake for 20 minutes. Do not let it brown.
- While the crust is baking, blend eggs, lemon juice, granulated sugar, and flour in a medium bowl with a hand mixer until frothy, about 30 seconds. Pour over warm crust.
- Bake for an additional 22–24 minutes. Bars are done when the edges begin to turn golden brown and the middle is set and does not wobble.
- Let cool completely in the pan. Sift powdered sugar over the top before cutting into squares.
Video
Notes
- You’ll need two medium lemons for freshly squeezed lemon juice; include 1-2 teaspoons of lemon zest for extra lemon flavor.
- If you overcook your lemon bars, they will curdle, look eggy, and end up with more of a grainy texture. Take them out of the oven as soon as the middle is set.
- Don’t worry if air bubbles appear. They are common and get covered with the delicious powdered sugar topping.
- Garnish each lemon square with a sliver of fresh lemon or add fresh berries (raspberry, blueberry, strawberry) to each square.
- For clean, even slices, we like to bake our bars in a parchment paper-lined pan. Once baked and cooled, lift out completely. Dip a chef’s knife in hot water, wipe off the water, and then slice.
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
Recipe FAQ
Store covered or in an airtight container. If needed, separate the layers with parchment paper. Store at room temperature for up to 3 days, in the refrigerator for up to 4 days, or freezer for up to 1 month.
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This recipe was originally published April 2017.
Adapted from Among the Young.
This is so easy and very good. I will make it again, and again thank you.
I am so glad you think so 🙂 Thank you!!
Hi recipe looks good, can i substitute cream cheese for the flour
Mine turned out horribly. All crust, which was tough and hard to cut through and a very thin layer of lemon that tasted mostly like sugar with a hint of lemon. Not good at all. I made them for some friends for a get together and ended up throwing them out and going to the bakery.
I made these and my froth came out with to strong of an egg flavor !
These bars are very easy to make. I had a problem with the crust. The dough kept sticking to my fingers while pressing into bottom of pan. I also only followed the recipe directions not turning down the heat grom 374 to 350 degrees while baking the filling. The setting should have been mentioned in the recipe section. Still good.
This recipe was simple to make but very difficult to slice. It fell apart and stuck in the pan (even though I greased it beforehand). Thank you for the clear instructions.
I re-made the recipe 3 times and each time the middle would not set and it wobbled so I do not recommend
These were super simple to make, but the bars didn’t look right. I realized I baked them at 375° instead of turning the oven down to 350° after the shortbread crust was done. I should have read the description of each step instead of just following the recipe at the bottom. However, they still tasted very good.
Thanks for giving them a try! I’m glad they tasted yummy!!
Best lemon bars ever!❤️
Thank you!!
I haven’t tried this recipe yet, but I am excited to find time to try it. it is also very well written in very straightforward, which I like. My only suggestion would be to add the amounts of each ingredient in the video.
Thank you!! Hope you enjoy the lemon bars!
Good texture and taste and easy recipe. . Probably personal preference on the amount of lemon, but I’d definitely add more lemon juice and more zest next time.
You can definitely add more lemon for a stronger lemon flavor! Glad you enjoyed the recipe!!
I’m gonna tell ya’ll right now. These are absolutely obscene. For real. Heaven in a bar is more like it. The Buttery richness. The powdered sugar in the crust makes them taste divine. Please, if your looking for the best tasting lemon bars. The search ends here. I promise you won’t be disappointed. Thank you so much for sharing your wonderful recipe with the rest of us.
Haha! Thank you for your kind words. I’m so glad you love the lemon bars!!
The best lemon bars by far!
These lemon bars are so easy to make and they taste so good!!! I get so many compliments when I make them and the fact that my mom (best cook I know) says I make lemon bars better than her…. Makes this a winning recipe!
The whole family LOVED!
Yay!! So glad to hear that!
Turns out perfect every time
I do make these is a sheet pan so almost double recipe I do like alot of crust but amazing bars
Thank you! I’m so glad you enjoy the lemon bar recipe!!
Easy and fast. My husband loved them for his birthday. I will start making these instead of brownies.
Yay!! So happy to hear that these were a success for your family! Thanks for sharing.
Lemon is my favorite summer flavor & these bars are incredible! Super soft & creamy!
Lemon Bars are a favorite of mine! These are so simple to make too! Perfect for summer or really all year long!
Thank you so much for sharing this super easy to make lemon bars! It turned our really great and fam really loves it! Will make it again for sure.
These were amazing! I tried to make lemon bars before but they didn’t seem to come out right. Then I found your recipe and they came out perfect!! My brother in law even said they were the best lemon bars he’s ever tasted!
Oh that makes me so happy to hear! I’m so glad you all (including your brother in law) enjoyed the lemon bars!
Hi,
Lovely recipe, can’t wait to try it. ☺️
Question – squeezed the lemons I have on hand and only came up with 3T of juice. I have limes – may I make up the 2-3T with lime instead?
Thank you!
You could use limes but it will change the flavor of the bars slightly. I have never tried them with lime juice, so I’m not sure how it would turn out. You’ll have to let us know!
Did you use salted or unsalted butter?
You can use either salted or unsalted butter for this recipe – whichever you prefer. 🙂
I used passion fruit (lilikoi) in place of the lemon. Wow. Turned out great!
That sounds amazing! I’ll have to give that a try!
They looked lovely and I was keen to make them but there was no ingredients measurements….how many eggs?…..how much flour? Etc
The recipe with the ingredient amounts is found at the bottom of the post. All of the instructions should be there as well. Hope this helps!
I made these lemon bars for Mother’s Day gifts. It was my first attempt at baking them. Recipe was very easy to follow and were a big hit. Once my hubby tasted one, the lemon bars nearly didn’t make it into the gift boxes.
Haha..love to hear that! Thank you!
I absolutely loved this recipe. I made lemon bars not too long ago and they were good, but these were GREAT. I added a dash of vanilla extract to my shortbread and a little bit of lemon zest to my lemon filling. I think it made it perfect
Woohoo!! Glad you thought they were great! Thank you for letting me know!
Easy, quick and delcious! Gonna try it again with fresh lemons! Thank you!
You are so welcome!! Thank you for letting me know!
Sounds good. I will be trying g this. Ii8
We hope you enjoy them!
Great recipe! Tastes so good my whole family enjoys this one. The only thing to add is im in high elevation so baking at 350 for 20 minutes did not work for me i had to Bake for an additional 10 min. Could you comment on how the texture should be in case i am over baking?
They are soft & gooey. I hope they turned out for you 🙂
Lemon is good…but i wanted to switch it up and used fresh lime juice….it was really good! (sorry for the caps…default setting I guess)
Good idea!! Happy you liked it! Thank you for sharing that!
Lemon happens to be my all time favorite flavor for desserts! These bars are so good and not too tangy!
These have always been one of my favorite sweet treats – love this simple version!
I love the powdered sugar on top…it was the perfect combo of sweet & sour.
I meant the amount of powdered sugar that goes into the lemon layer, sorry. How much??
To go over the top? It’s just for topping, so it can be as much or as little as you’d like 😉 No wrong amount!
Question for you… On your lemon bars i can not see how much powdered sugar you put in the crust.. Is it 1/3 cup or what??
This is an easy and delicious bar but the lemon is minimal. Next time I need to up the lemon.
You can definitely add more lemon taste. Thank you for trying them 🙂
Love this!!! Just like mY moMs recipe i remember as a kid
Glad they remind you of your moms! Thank you so much!
Do you blend the lemon ingredients in BLENDER or just mix it together? I consider myself an experienced cook- but i can never get lemon bars just right- im super excited to make these
I used a hand mixer 🙂 Good luck!! I hope they turn out for you!
This waS THE FIRST TIME I HAVE MADE LEMON BARS AND THEY WERE WONDERFUL! I DON’T EVEN WANT TO TRY ANOTHER RECIPE. 🙂 THANK YOU! (ALSO IT SEEMS THE DEFAULT IS ALL CAPS SO I AM NOT YELLING BUT STILL VERY EXCITED ABOUT HOW DELICIOUS THESE ARE.)
Yay!! Glad you loved them! Thank you so much for letting me know!
How much powdered sugar in first mixture? 1/2 cup or 1 cup?
It is 1/2 cup, then just enough to sprinkle on top.
do we have to wait for the crust to cool before pouring on the liquid?
I need to make these for a party the following day. Is it best to store them in the fridge or on the counter?
I keep them in an air tight container on the counter. Hope they are a hit!
What kind of lemon juice? Real or concentrate?
I just use the lemon juice you buy at the store 🙂 You could use freshly squeezed for sure!
even though I’m not a huge fan of lemon, these lemon bars are super tasty!
Best lemon bar ever
These lemon bars are so good!! I love lemon, it’s so refreshing! they are so soft & creamy! I took them to a potluck & everyone raved about them!
Love a good lemon bar! Thank you for this recipe. Its not too tangy and has the perfect sweetness.
This is very similar to a Lemon Bar recipe made with a cake mix and all the other ingredients. However, one doesn’t always have a lemon cake mix on hand when they get the urge so will give this a try.
QUESTION: Should the pan be greased?
Yes, grease the pan first 🙂 I hope you like them, as much as we do!
Sorry meant flour lol
What type of flower do you ? Self rising or all purpose ??
All-purpose 🙂
How much flour for the 2nd part? I put 2 cups in the crust? Same for the top mix?
It is 1/3 cup for the 2nd part 🙂
What does TB stand for
Tablespoon 🙂 Hope you like these!
Tablespoon