Old Fashion Lemon Bars

Old Fashion Lemon Bars are a summertime Southern favorite.  In fact, this recipe came from one of my Paula Dean cookbooks….it doesn’t get much more Southern than that.  

I’ve had Lemon Bars many times in my life but one particular occasion stands out in my mind.  After our first child was born ladies from our church brought dinner to us for a couple of weeks.  I have no idea what we ate or what anyone brought (it was almost 22 years ago) EXCEPT one thing…..Lemon Bars.  Yes, one lady brought Lemon Bars… I enjoyed them so much!  I don’t know why they seemed especially delicious then, but they were.  There’s a chance my husband didn’t even get any because I may have eaten them all.    

It seemed fitting to share this recipe and memory with you today as this “first child” of ours is getting married this week.  Maybe I should make some Old Fashion Lemon Bars!      

Here’s the Recipe:

Crust:

• 2 sticks butter – at room temperature
• 2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 cup powdered sugar + more for dusting
• pinch of salt

Filling:

• 4 eggs
• 2 cups granular sugar
• 6 Tbsp all-purpose flour
• 6 Tbsp lemon juice (fresh is best)

Preheat oven to 350 degrees

Prepare crust by whisking flour, sugar and salt together in a large bowl

Cut in the butter to make a crumbly dough (finger may work best for this)

Transfer dough into a buttered 9×13 baking dish

Press until bottom of dish and bake for 20 minutes

Remove from oven and allow to cool slightly on a wire rack

While crust is cooling prepare filling by…

Mix eggs, sugar and flour in a bowl using fork or whisk

Mix in the lemon juice and pour into slightly cooled crust

Bake for 25 minutes

Remove and allow to cool completely on wire rack

Sprinkle with powdered sugar