Lemon Bars with a buttery shortbread crust and a tangy, sweet lemon topping. A dusting of powdered sugar makes them irresistible!
Love lemony desserts? You’ll love this creamy Lemon Pie, Lemon Tart, or Lemon Cookies!
The Best Lemon Bars
Growing up, my mom made the best lemon bars, so I had a few must-haves for my own version.
The perfect Lemon Bar starts with a light, sweet shortbread crust that holds up to the tangy lemon custard. The crust should balance the bright, tart filling, which needs to be smooth, creamy, and not mixed into the crust.
Despite these must-haves, I wanted a simple recipe. This version uses everyday ingredients and a blender for the filling—quick and easy!
How To Make Lemon Bars
The full recipe is below, but here are my best tips for Lemon Bars:
- Use a glass pan: Metal can change the flavor.
- Line with parchment paper: This makes it easier to lift and cut the bars.
- Use fresh lemon juice: Bottled won’t taste as good, and you’ll need fresh lemons for zest anyway.
- Chill fully: This brings out the flavor and helps the custard set.
- Don’t over-blend: Blending too long adds air bubbles.
What Are Classic Lemon Bars Made Of?
A few ingredients worth going into detail about:
- Lemon Zest: Avoid the bitter white part—only zest the yellow skin using a microplane.
- Lemon Extract: A strong lemon flavor booster, like vanilla extract. It’s found near baking spices.
- Butter: High quality butter means better flavor. Use unsalted to control the salt.
- Vanilla: Vanilla bean paste adds more flavor, but vanilla extract works too.
- Heavy Cream: This helps balance the tartness and makes the custard creamier.
How To Get More Juice From Lemons
- Microwave the lemons for 15-20 seconds.
- Knead the lemons with your hand against the counter for 20-30 seconds.
- Cut the lemon in half horizontally and juice the lemon using a juicer.
Quick Tip
How to Cut Lemon Bars Cleanly: Chill bars in the fridge until firm. Use a hot knife—run it under hot water, dry, cut, and repeat for clean slices.
How To Tell When Lemon Bars Are Done
The edges should be set, and the center should no longer jiggle when gently shaken.
How To Remove Bars From The Pan
Line the pan with parchment paper, leaving extra hanging over the sides. Use it to lift the bars out easily for cutting.
Storage
Can I Freeze Lemon Bars?
Yes! The crust and custard freeze at different speeds, so they need space to freeze properly.
- Cut the bars and place them on a lined baking sheet with space between them.
- Freeze for 2-3 hours until solid.
- Wrap each bar in plastic wrap, then store in a bag or container for up to 3 months.
For short-term storage, keep them in an airtight container in the fridge for 4-6 days.
More Citrus-Based Desserts:
- Lime Cookies with a lime glaze
- Peach Lemonade made with real lemons
- Lemon Zucchini Bread with a lemon glaze
- Mini Fruit Tart with an orange-based filling
- Fruit Dip made with the zest of limes
Lemon Bars
These Lemon Bars feature a buttery shortbread crust topped with a tangy-sweet lemon filling. A dusting of powdered sugar adds the perfect finishing touch!
Equipment
- 9 x 13-inch non-metal pan
- Stand mixer or hand mixer
- Fine mesh strainer
Ingredients
- Cooking spray
- 16 tablespoons unsalted butter at room temperature, see note 1
- 2 cups granulated sugar divided
- 1 teaspoon vanilla bean paste or 1-1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 2 cups + 3 tablespoons flour divided
- 1 teaspoon salt divided
- 4 to 5 lemons see note 2
- 4 large eggs
- 1/4 teaspoon lemon extract optional, see note 3
- 1/3 cup heavy cream
- Powdered sugar for topping bars
Instructions
- Line a ceramic 9×13-inch pan (don’t use a metal pan—it will make the bars taste metallic) with parchment paper, leaving an overhang for easy removal. Lightly spray the pan with cooking spray and set aside.
- In a stand mixer with a whisk attachment (or a bowl and hand mixer), beat together room temperature butter and 1/2 cup granulated sugar. Beat until smooth and creamy, about 2–4 minutes. Scrape edges of the bowl as needed. Add 3/4 teaspoon salt, vanilla bean paste, and 2 cups of flour. Beat until a thick dough forms, scraping the sides as needed. (Dough too soft? Add 1–3 additional tablespoons flour.)
- Transfer dough to prepared pan and press evenly on the bottom of the pan and a little up the sides (about 1/2-inch). Take your time, ensuring dough is in an even layer and touching every bit of the edge of the pan so the lemon filling doesn’t seep through. Preheat oven to 350°F. Place pan in the freezer 15 minutes to allow crust to firm up. After 15 minutes, remove crust and again press all the edges to the pan, making sure the seal is 100% tight. Bake 22–25 minutes or until lightly golden brown at the edges.
- Meanwhile, microwave lemons for 15 seconds. Remove, and knead against the counter with your hand. (These steps help to get your lemons super juicy.)
- Very finely zest a lemon to get 2 teaspoons lemon zest. (Be careful to avoid the white pith of the lemons—that will make your bars bitter.) Juice lemons to get 2/3 cup juice.
- In a high-powered blender, add remaining 1-1/2 cups granulated sugar and lemon zest. Pulse just to break down the zest, about 5–8 times. Do not over-blend or you’ll get powdered sugar! Add remaining 3 tablespoons flour, lemon juice, remaining 1/4 teaspoon salt, eggs, heavy cream, and lemon extract (if using). Blend for 20 seconds or until just incorporated—again, being careful to not over-blend but ensuring all ingredients are emulsified together. Use a spatula to stir the mixture and let sit until needed.
- Stir blended mixture again and pour slowly and evenly over the hot crust (right out of the oven). Bake another 20–25 minutes or until bars very slightly jiggle in the center (like firm Jell-o). Allow bars to cool at room temperature for 2 hours, then chill in the fridge until the lemon layer is firm, about 2 more hours.
- Before enjoying, sprinkle the top of the bars with powdered sugar (through a fine-mesh sieve). Pull the parchment paper overhang to remove the entire slab of bars from the pan. Run a sharp knife under hot water, dry, make one cut, and repeat until all the bars are cut out. Enjoy!
Video
Recipe Notes
Note 1: The better the butter, the richer the flavor. I love Challenge® Butter. Choose unsalted to have perfect control over the amount of salt in the dough. Do not melt the butter so it can properly cream with the sugar.
Note 2: When zesting the lemon, avoid the white pith of the lemon—this is very bitter. Using a fine grater, zest only the very outside yellow part of the lemon for this recipe. This citrus juicer makes juicing the lemons a breeze!
Note 3: Lemon extract is a flavor enhancer (just like vanilla extract) that gives these bars a more intense citrusy lemon flavor. Lemon extract can usually be found near other baking extracts and spices in the grocery store; I recommend using a pure lemon extract.
Storage: Let leftover bars cool completely, then cover with plastic wrap and pop in the fridge for 4–6 days. To freeze them, Cut the bars out and set on a lined sheet pan, leaving room around all 4 edges. Place in freezer until frozen through (2–3 hours), then wrap each lemon bar individually with plastic wrap and store in a large bag or container and freeze for up to 3 months.
Nutrition
Serving: 1serving | Calories: 184kcal | Carbohydrates: 25.2g | Protein: 2.2g | Fat: 8.6g | Cholesterol: 51.3mg | Sodium: 13.3mg | Fiber: 0.3g | Sugar: 16.9g
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
I’ve saved a bunch of your recipes before and have enjoyed doing that, so thanks. But this time you included pictures of the process and I would appreciate it if you didn’t do that anymore. 😄 it makes it harder to save and takes up a lot more space. Anyways, thanks for sharing.
Hey Tamara! Are you clicking “print recipe”? That takes to you a page without process shots!
Another successful recipe I’ve tried of yours. This is actually the second time I’ve made these lemon bars and they came out great again. The first time I made them I followed the recipe exactly. This time I added 1/4 tsp of almond extract to the dough and I loved the hint of almond mixed with the lemon of the bars. Thanks for sharing this recipe.
YAY! So thrilled to hear this! Thanks SO much for your comment LaToya! 🙂
these lemon bars are really amazing . i just love them
So thrilled to hear! Thanks Joni! 🙂
I was searching for a lemon bar recipe for my husband’s birthday dessert and happened to come across yours. I was able to make the bars the night before his birthday, and they set up so well. The tart, lemon flavor is exactly how we like it. He said they were a hit. 🙂 Thank you!
Yay! I am so happy to hear this Karen! Thanks for your comment! 🙂
These are so so so good! Thank you for the easy to follow directions! Everybody was very impressed with this bake
So happy these were a hit! 🙂 Thanks for the comment and review!
Honestly the BEST. I’ve tried a lot of lemon bar recipes, and right now this is my favorite.
What a compliment! Thank you so much for your comment! I’m so glad you love these lemon bars! 🙂
These lemon tarts are perfect! I am always disappointed with other recipes because they aren’t lemony enough. I followed the recipe to the tee except that I added 1/2 tsp of almond to the crust (which was just a suggestion anyway). I added the lemon extract (another suggestion) which I don’t usually do and found it did not taste fake at all in this recipe. Thanks for sharing!
YAYYY!! I’m sooo happy to hear this!! Thanks so much for your comment! 🙂
I made these last night, the lemon filling turned out perfectly, unfortunately I completely failed at the crust. Gonna try them again tonight, any tips for the crust?
All purpose flour right? Unsalted butter?
Maybe I put too much in the pan when I baked, crust was huge.
I want to perfect these!
I’d just be careful to not over-measure the flour; spoon and level it into measuring cups!
I made these with Meyer lemons from my backyard and the bars were outstanding! So lemony! My only question is they are a little wet on top and the powdered sugar melts. Is there a way to prevent that?
I think that happens with all lemon bars; I’d recommend just sprinkling a couple times with powdered sugar and doing it right before serving 🙂
Unfortunately passing mixture through mesh removed the zest from my filling☹️
I didn’t have any flour clumps so now wish that I wouldn’t have poured filling through mesh into hot crust – unable to add zest back without it being in clumps
That’s right! You don’t want zest in the filling, it works on flavoring before being strained out.