Lemon Bars with shortbread crust are a classic lemon treat with buttery crust and a refreshing tangy lemon filling. With only a few, simple ingredients and some fresh lemons, you’ll have an irresistible lemon treat perfect for Easter, potlucks, or any occasion.
If you love lemon, be sure to try our creamy lemon pie.
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The Best Lemon Bar Recipe
For years, I didn’t make lemon bars because I thought they were difficult to make. Boy, was I wrong. With just a few ingredients, you can have these sweet and tangy treats with this traditional lemon bars recipe. Don’t worry, these are easy lemon bars and we’ll walk you through how to make them at home.
Our lemon bars with shortbread crust have a thick layer of tart lemon filling then dusted with powdered sugar to add just an extra bit of sweetness to every bite. The lemon curd filling is layered on top of the most amazing shortbread crust.
The shortbread base couldn’t be easier to make and is a nice, thick, buttery layer across the bottom of the lemon bars.
Our lemon bar recipe uses a 9 x 13 pan, but doesn’t thin the bars out. We perfected the recipe so that you get nice, thick crust and also a generous amount of lemon curd on top.
Some lemon bar recipes get too thin when you use the larger pan. While some recipes use a square pan and are too thick. We think ours is just right for the perfect lemon bars.
These simply are the best lemon bars!
Lemon Shortbread Bars ingredients
For the crust:
- 1 cup butter, unsalted, melted
- 1/2 cup sugar
- 2 cups flour
- ½ teaspoon salt
For the lemon layer:
- 1 ½ cups sugar
- ¼ cup all-purpose flour
- 4 eggs
- 1 cup lemon juice (about 4 lemons)
- confectioners sugar for dusting
How to make Lemon Bars with Shortbread Crust
Step One: Make the Crust
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line a 9 x 13 baking pan with parchment paper and set aside. It’s important to line the pan so you can easily get the lemon bars out of the pan.
- In the bowl of an electric mixer with a paddle attachment combine melted butter, sugar, and salt. Add the flour a little at a time and stir to combine. The dough will be coarse crumbles, but press it together with your hands to get it to solidify.
- Press dough into an even layer on the bottom of the prepared baking dish. Bake for 15 minutes until the crust is barely golden.
Step Two: Make Lemon Layer
- In medium-sized mixing bowl whisk together sugar and flour. Add in eggs to the sugar mixture, one at a time. Add lemon juice and mix to combine.
- Pour lemon mixture on top of crust. Bake, uncovered 20-25 minutes (we did ours for 22 minutes) until the center is set and isn’t moving when you jiggle the pan.
- You may see air bubbles, sometimes they are white, on top of this recipe after it’s baked. This is a normal reaction and is covered with powdered sugar before serving.
- Allow bars to chill in the refrigerator for 2-3 hours before serving. Dust the top with confectioners sugar. Cut into squares and serve.
How to tell when lemon bars are done
To tell when lemon bars are done, look for a firm, set center with slightly golden edges. You can gently shake the pan, and if the center jiggles slightly but the edges are set, they’re likely done. Inserting a toothpick near the center should come out clean or with a few moist crumbs.
Shortbread Lemon Bars recipe substitutions
- Use Meyer Lemons – try these sweeter lemons
- Add lemon zest – you can add some lemon zest to the filling mixture if you want an added punch of lemon flavor. We like the clean lines without, but it’s an option if you want extra fresh lemon flavor.
Tips for the Best Lemon Bars
- Fresh lemon juice – it’s worth the effort to juice fresh lemons.
- Cold butter – the butter needs to be cold so the shortbread crust will form properly
- Line the baking dish – it will be very hard to get your lemon bars out of the pan if you don’t line it first. Using parchment paper or aluminum foil will allow you to pick it up and cut on a cutting board.
- Sharp knife – use a sharp knife to cut the lemon bars. Clean the knife in between cuts to ensure smooth sides on your bars.
How Do I Get Clean Squares?
Cutting lemon bars can be tricky. If you follow my tips above you should be in good shape. Be sure to use the parchment paper so you can easily remove the bars from the pan, that’s the first step.
Make sure the bars are completely cooled, or better yet, put them in the refrigerator for several minutes to chill.
Then, use a clean, sharp knife to start cutting lemon bar squares. Wipe the knife clean in between each cut.
Once they are all cut, you can square them up by trimming excess lemon bar from the larger pieces you might get.
Serving Shortbread Lemon Bars
You can leave the top of your lemon bars plain, as they come out of the oven, but it’s customary to sprinkle confectioners sugar on top. The best way to do this is with a sifter or a small, hand-held dusting want. They’re a great kitchen gadget to have and only cost about 10 bucks.
How to store Lemon Bars with Shortbread Crust
You can keep lemon bars in the refrigerator for a few days.
Can you freeze lemon bars?
Yes, you can freeze lemon bars for several months. Just be sure to wrap them tightly in plastic wrap and put them inside a zipper freezer bag.
When you’re ready to eat them you can place them in the refrigerator overnight to thaw.
More Lemon Desserts
- Lemon Bars with Shortbread Crust
- Frosted Lemonade (Chick-Fil-A Copycat Recipe)
- Creamy Lemon Pie
- 4-Ingredient Lemon Cookies
- Lemon and Lavender Cupcakes
- Lemon Bundt Cake (Nothing Bundt Cake Copycat Recipe)
- Lemon Blueberry Popsicles
- Lemon Cake Mix Cookies
- Strawberry Lemon Lasagna
- Apple Dumplings with Lemon Glaze
- Lemon Bars
- Lemon Lush
Perfecting the lemon curd part of the recipe can seem tricky. If your lemon bars are gooey it’s most likely because they weren’t cooked enough or didn’t set up enough in the refrigerator.
You are looking for a dusting so a sifter is a great way to do this, but you can just as easily sift the powdered sugar with a mesh strainer. Some have even been able to use a whisk to sift. If you don’t have any special utensils, just put some powdered sugar in a spoon and tap the side of it on top of the lemons bars.
The crust on top of lemon bars forms due to the egg and sugar mixture rising to the surface during baking. As the bars cool, this mixture sets and creates a slightly crispy crust, which contrasts nicely with the soft lemon filling underneath.
It’s generally better to bake lemon bars in a metal pan because metal conducts heat more efficiently, resulting in more even baking and a crisper crust. However, if you prefer using a glass pan, you may need to adjust the baking time slightly as glass tends to retain heat differently.
Yes, you can use foil instead of parchment paper for lemon bars. However, keep in mind that foil may cause the edges of the bars to brown more quickly due to its reflective nature, so you may need to monitor the baking process closely and possibly adjust the baking time or temperature.
Shortbread Lemon Bars
Ingredients
For the crust:
- 1 cup butter unsalted, melted
- 1/2 cup sugar
- 2 cups flour
- ½ teaspoon salt
For the filling:
- 1 ½ cups sugar
- ¼ cup all-purpose flour
- 4 eggs
- 1 cup lemon juice about 4 lemons
- confectioners sugar for dusting
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line a 9×13 baking pan with parchment paper and set aside. It’s important to line the pan so you can easily get the lemon bars out of the pan.
- In a medium-sized mixing bowl whisk together the melted butter, sugar, and salt. Add the flour a little at a time and stir to combine. Press dough into an even layer on the bottom of the 9×13 baking dish. Bake for 15 minutes until the crust is barely golden.
- In medium-sized mixing bowl whisk together sugar and flour. Add in eggs, one at a time. Add lemon juice and mix to combine.
- Pour lemon filling on top of crust. Bake, uncovered 20-25 minutes until the center is set and isn’t moving when you jiggle the pan.
- You may see air bubbles, sometimes they are white, on top of this recipe after it’s baked. This is a normal reaction and is covered with powdered sugar before serving.
- Allow bars to chill in the refrigerator for 2-3 hours before serving. Dust the top with confectioners sugar. Cut into squares and serve.
Nutrition
Did You Make This Recipe?
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Comments & Reviews
Ginger says
Nice lemon taste.
I made 2 batches, I made 1 cooled crust & then lemon top & 1 right from oven with lemon top. I think the texture is better if crust cooled & then add lemon top.
All in all my guests enjoyed them.
P. sugar didn’t stay on top very long.
Thanks for a fun receipe.