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Our The Best Ever Lemon Bars is a classic Lemon Bar recipe perfected over the years until it had just the right amount of lemon flavor on top of a soft and delicious shortbread crust.

Two stacked The Best Ever Lemon Bars sitting on a white plate.

This recipe really is The Best Ever Lemon Bars recipe we’ve ever tasted. We’ve tried so many different versions of this recipe. Our Great-Grandmother had one that was yummy but not very lemony. Our Grandma and Mom liked a version that had a crust that was denser and more like a sugar cookie. We’ve borrowed a bit of goodness from all of those vintage recipes and this is the one that Nancy and I have perfected in the Two Sisters’ Test Kitchen. So whether you call these classic sweet but tart dessert bars Lemon Bars or Lemon Squares or Lemon Lovelies we think you are going to love them!

How to Prepare the Lemons

Lemons, a lemon squeezer and a lemon zester

Step 1: Squeeze lemons until you have 1 cup of lemon juice and then zest the lemon rinds until you have 2 tablespoons of lemon zest. Set aside for the Lemon filling.

How to make a Lemon Bar Shortbread Crust

Images showing the steps for making the crust for Lemon Bars

Step 2: In a bowl, combine flour, powdered sugar, and cornstarch. Cube the cold butter and add to bowl.
Step 3: With your hands or a pastry blender combine the dry ingredients until the dough is crumbly.
Step 4: Prepare a 9×13″ pan.  Lightly spray the pan with cooking spray and then cover the pan with parchment paper vertically.  Spray the parchment paper and then cover that piece with another piece of parchment paper horizontally. Pour the crust mixture into the pan and press down evenly.
Step 5: Bake crust in a 350-degree oven for 20-25 minutes or until golden brown around the edges. While the crust is in the oven, make the lemon filling.

How to make the Lemon Bar filling

Pictures showing how to make the lemon filling for Lemon Bars

Step 6: Add Eggs, Granulated Sugar, and flour into a mixing bowl.
Step 7: Stir until smooth and fully combined.
Steps 8-9: Add lemons and lemon zest and mix until combined.

Collage image showing the steps for pouring the lemon filling into the pan with the baked shortbread crust

Step 10: When the crust is done, pour the lemon mixture onto the crust as soon as you pull it out of the oven.
Step 11: Place the Lemon Bars back in the oven and cook for another 20-25 minutes or until the lemon filling is set.

How to serve Lemon Squares

images showing how to cut and serve Lemon Bars

Step 12: Allow the Lemon Bars to cool.
Step 13: Cut into squares. It will be easier to cut the squares if the Lemon Bars have been refrigerated for a couple of hours.
Steps 14-15: Sprinkle the Bars with Powdered Sugar.

How to Store and Freeze

Closeup on a single serving of The Best Ever Lemon Bar.

The Lemon filling is chock full of eggs (like most custards) so you really need to store these bars in the refrigerator. But as we said above, we think they taste best at room temperature. Feel free to take them out of the refrigerator a couple of hours before you are going to serve them.

Store them in the refrigerator in the pan covered with aluminum foil or plastic wrap if you are going to eat them in 2-3 days. If you want to keep them longer than that, you should freeze them. To freeze them, store them in an airtight container and separate each layer of bars with a piece of parchment paper.

We think these dessert bars taste best served at room temperature but you will need to store them in the refrigerator so allow for some time to pull them out to come up to room temp before you serve them.

a white serving platter holding a batch of Lemon Bars

Other Delicious Lemon Recipes You Will Love

The Best Ever Lemon BarsPrint

The Best Ever Lemon Bars

Yield 12-15 squares
Prep Time 20 minutes
Cook Time 25 minutes
Total Time 45 minutes

Our The Best Ever Lemon Bars is a classic Lemon Bar recipe perfected over the years until it had just the right amount of lemon flavor on top of a soft and chewy shortbread crust.

Ingredients

Shortbread Crust

  • 1 1/2 cups Butter (Cold Sweet Cream Salted)
  • 1/2 cup Corn Starch
  • 1 1/2 cups Powdered Sugar
  • 2 1/2 cups All-Purpose Flour

Lemon Filling

  • 6 Large Eggs
  • 2 cups Granulated Sugar
  • 1/3 cup All-Purpose Flour
  • 1 cup Lemon Juice
  • 2 tablespoons Lemon Zest

Topping

  • 1/2 cup Powdered Sugar

Instructions

Shortbread Crust

  1. Prepare a 9x13" pan.  Lightly spray the pan with cooking spray and then cover the pan with parchment paper vertically.  Spray the parchment paper and then cover that piece with another piece of parchment paper horizontally.
  2. In a bowl, combine flour, powdered sugar and corn starch.
  3. Cube the cold butter and add to bowl.
  4. With your hands or a pastry blender combine the dry ingredients until the dough in crumbly.
  5. Pour the crust mixture into the pan and press down evenly.
  6. Bake crust in a 350 degree oven for 20-25 minutes or until golden brown around the edges.
  7. While the crust is in the oven, make the lemon filling.

Lemon Filling

  1. Squeeze lemons until you have 1 cup of lemon juice.
  2. Zest lemons until you have 2 tablespoons of lemon zest.
  3. Add Eggs, Granulated Sugar and flour into a mixing bowl. Stir until smooth and fully combined.
  4. Add lemons and lemon zest and mix until combined.
  5. When crust is done, pour lemon mixture onto the crust as soon as you pull it out of the oven.
  6. Place the Lemon Bars back in the oven and cook for another 20-25 minutes or until the lemon filling is set.

Topping

  1. Allow the Lemon Bars to cool.
  2. Sprinkle the Bars with Powdered Sugar.
  3. Cut into squares.

Did you Make this Recipe? Leave a review below, then snap a picture and tag @twosisterscrafting on Instagram so we can see it!

© Two Sisters Crafting
Cuisine: American / Category: Brownies and Bars