Lemon Curd Squares + The Winner
Erica Lea on Dec 22nd 2011
My Dad hates citrus in baked goods. Thus, I have always been leery of cooking with lemons, oranges, limes, etc.
Reuben loves lemon bars. When he informed me of this, I promised to make him some. I searched the internet over for the perfect recipe, and settled one entitled “Lemon Curd Squares.” When I saw that the ingredient list included cream, I knew I needed to make them.
And I wasn’t disappointed in my choice. Reuben loves them. He requested I send several bars in his lunch so he could share them with the other guys. That day he posted on my Facebook wall: “Best lemon bars ever. :)” <— Proudest. Moment. Ever.
These lemon bars are the perfect medium between overpoweringly sweet and mouth-puckering sour. The crust is wonderfully tasty, enhanced by a smidgen of cinnamon. Dust with a little powdered sugar, and you have an elegant, scrumptious dessert.
Lemon Curd Squares
Adapted from Willams-Sanoma | Printable Recipe | Makes 12 Bars
Ingredients:
For the crust:
- 1 cup all-purpose flour (I used half white, half whole wheat)
- 1/3 cup granulated sugar (I used demerara)
- 1/2 tsp. salt
- 1/8 tsp. ground cinnamon
- 8 Tbs. (1 stick) cold unsalted butter, cut into 1/2-inch pieces
For the lemon filling:
- 3/4 cup granulated sugar (I used ground demerara)
- 2 Tbs. all-purpose flour
- Pinch of salt
- 1 tsp. finely grated lemon zest (optional)
- 3 eggs, at room temperature
- 1/2 cup fresh lemon juice
- 3 Tbs. heavy cream
- Confectioners’ sugar, for dusting (optional)
Directions:
To make the crust:
In a food processor, combine the flour, granulated sugar, salt and cinnamon. Pulse briefly until blended. Add the butter and pulse until the dough forms moist crumbs and sticks together when pinched, about 1 minute. There should be no trace of dryness. Press the dough into the bottom and 1 inch up the sides of the prepared baking dish, lightly flouring your fingertips if necessary to prevent them from sticking. Bake the crust until pale golden, 20 to 22 minutes. Transfer the pan to a wire rack and let the crust cool completely. Reduce the oven temperature to 325°F.
To make the filling:
1.) In a bowl, whisk together the granulated sugar, flour, salt and lemon zest. Add the eggs, lemon juice and cream and whisk until just blended. Carefully pour the mixture over the baked crust.
Bake until the filling is set but still jiggles slightly when the dish is gently shaken, about 20 minutes, or longer if using a metal pan. Transfer the pan to the wire rack and let cool for about 30 minutes. Run the tip of a small knife along the inside of the dish to loosen the crust from the sides, then let cool completely.
Cut into 12 small rectangles (fewer if you want larger bars). Grab the sides of parchment paper that stick out from the pan and carefully remove the bars from the dish. Just before serving, sift a dusting of confectioners sugar over the bars.
Now for the Shabby Apple Giveaway Winner!
The winner is: Commenter #55: Michelle who said, “Admiral! Why? Because I serve in the Navy and I absolutely adore a beautiful sailor dress that is not too short or revealing. It is beautiful!!!”
Congratulations, Michelle!
Thank you to all who entered my giveaway. Hope you all have a very Merry Christmas!
Pin It
Tweet
Filed in Baking, Bars, Cookies, Dessert, Reuben Approved
Mmm.. I love lemon bars!!! Perfect bite size decadence
Merry Christmas, sweetie
These are beautiful and sound so yummy!
im a sucker for lemon sometimes so these might do me some good!
[...] *cookingforseven [...]
My husband can’t eat chocolate and so I’m always looking for new desserts he can have. These sound fantastic. I can’t wait to try them.
2 Kids and Tired Cooks
It looks delicious. I like to make this Lemon curd squares for my kids.
Reuben this Reuben that jeez women marry and loose their identity
If you are interested in Baking and Nigella, Check out my Giveaway at -
http://www.rookieqookie.com/2012/01/pineapple-zabaglione-with-whipped-cream.html
They look delicious, Erica Lea! I have not had a lemon square for a good, long while…
Today I am planning to make lemon curd, and perhaps some scones to go along with the curd (or, I suppose, the other-way-around), but the next batch of lemons we buy just might need to be used for this recipe!
I love them! Our American friend brought them to our house the day of our Royal Wedding, so they will forever remind me of Prince William and Princess Catherine now!
I’ve never actually had a recipe for them, so this will be my recipe…. seeing as how I’d trust *any* recipe of yours
I made these last weekend and they turned out great. I bought another bag of Meyer lemons this weekend to make another batch for my husband and daughter.
I made these and they were wonderful. I had company coming and a bunch of lemons, so it was a perfect combination. I don’t usually make lemon bars since I’m more of a chocolate girl, but I loved these. I don’t have a food processor, so I just used a pastry cutter for the crust and just made sure to be very thorough. Delicious! I use your pizza crust and pizza sauce recipies, too. My family loves them. Thanks!
I can totally why he loved the bars so much - they look delicious! Very moist and lemony. Perfect!
[...] hobbies. I’m thinking that these two recipes sound divine: Peanut Butter Blondies, and Lemon Curd Squares. As for cooking a few new meals, I have the following in mind: Pasta Alla Vodka, Greek Quesadillas, [...]
Splendid. I used 1 cup of sugar and the zest of an entire lemon; I also substituted melted butter for the cream (I was out of cream) and omitted the salt, since the butter was salted.
The filling was amazing! Just the lemony-tart flavor I’d been dreaming of. I feel as if most lemon bars have too little lemon and too much sugar, but this? Perfection.
[...] Lemon Curd Squares ~ Mouth-watering and mouth-puckering lemon bars! A delicious combination of a flaky cookie crust [...]