Easy Lemon Bar Recipe (With Video Tutorial)
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This easy lemon bar recipe includes the perfect blend of zesty lemon flavor and irresistible sweetness with a shortbread crust that has an exquisitely light crunch.
I’m so very excited about this easy lemon bar recipe post and video tutorial! I hope you’ll watch it and comment below. It includes two very special guests: Terri, the reader who gave me the Dixie cornbread recipe, and another surprise guest (watch to find out).
But back to these luscious lemon bars! When I say this is an easy lemon bar recipe, you know I mean it! We first have to combine the butter, flour, and sugar to make the base, which we pre-bake. While that’s baking, we stir together the remaining lemon filling ingredients and pour them over the top, and bake once more. Then all you have to do is patiently wait for them to cool before sprinkling them with confectioner’s sugar.
These lemon bars are perfectly sweet but with a deliciously tangy and tart lemon flavor. Because we pre-bake the shortbread base, it has an exquisitely light crunch to it that I cannot get enough of! The combination of this with the soft and smooth lemon curd filling that just melts in your mouth is irresistible, let me tell you!
I hope you enjoyed watching this tutorial on how to make lemon bars as much as we did making it.
Recipe Ingredients
- All-purpose flour
- Butter
- Confectioner’s sugar
- Granulated sugar
- Eggs
- Lemon juice
- Baking powder
How to Make Easy Lemon Bars
Making the Shortbread Crust
First, we’re going to make the base. Sift together flour and confectioner’s sugar.
Cut in butter until the mixture clings together.
Press base into a baking dish.
Bake at 350 degrees for 25 minutes or until lightly brown.
Making the Lemon Filling
Combine and beat together the eggs, granulated sugar, and lemon juice.
Sift flour and baking powder.
Stir the dry ingredients into the wet ingredients.
Pour this over the baked lemon bar crust.
Bake at 350 degrees for 15 minutes or until slightly brown and set.
Remove from the oven.
Cool and then sprinkle in the confectioner’s sugar.
Cut into bars and try not to eat all of these lovely before offering them to family and friends!
I sure do hope you enjoy 😀.
Storage
- These lemon bars are a great make-ahead dessert, as you can store them in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 6 days.
- You can also freeze the un-dusted bars for up to 4 months. Thaw them in the fridge and then dust with confectioner’s sugar before serving.
Recipe Notes
- You can use either bottled lemon juice or fresh lemon juice.
- If using lemons to make fresh lemon juice, you can also add the lemon zest for added lemon flavor.
- To add more flavor to the base, go ahead and add a teaspoon of vanilla extract.
- For easier removal, line your baking dish with parchment paper. Then you can use the leftover parchment paper hanging over the sides as handles to easily lift the lemon bars out of the pan.
- Refrigerate the bars before cutting them to make it easier to cut them into clean squares.
You may also like these bar recipes:
Three Layer Chocolate Fantasy Bars
Gooey Butter Bars From Scratch
Or if you are hankering for more lemon recipes:
Ingredients
Base
- 2 cups all-purpose flour
- 1 cup softened butter
- 1/2 cup confectioner's sugar
Filling
- 4 eggs
- 1/2 tsp baking powder
- 2 cups granulated sugar
- 4 tbsp confectioner's sugar
- 1/3 cup lemon juice
- 1/2 cup all-purpose flour
Instructions
Base
- Sift together flour and confectioner's sugar. Cut in butter until the mixture clings together. Press into a 9x13-inch baking dish. Bake at 350 for 25 minutes or until lightly brown.2 cups all-purpose flour, 1 cup softened butter, 1/2 cup confectioner's sugar
Filling
- Combine and beat together the eggs, granulated sugar, and lemon juice. Sift flour and baking powder and stir the dry ingredients into the egg mixture. Pour the batter over the baked crust.4 eggs, 2 cups granulated sugar, 1/3 cup lemon juice, 1/2 cup all-purpose flour, 1/2 tsp baking powder
- Bake at 350 for 15 minutes or until slightly brown and set. Remove from the oven. Cool and then sprinkle with confectioner's sugar before cutting into bars.4 tbsp confectioner's sugar
Nutrition
Happy Anniversary Christy! Great video! Now I need to make those lemon bars!
Thank you so much, Sandy!
Oh dear-my comment was long and I still forgot to tell you that I remeber Burma shave signs in my area too and as kids we thought they were great fun. It was a very clever ad campaign.
LOVE LOVE LOVE reading about Burma-Shave signs! Don’t you just hate that our younguns miss out on ’em?
I don’t know where to start! Best Wishes on your first anniversary and many , many more are wished for you and yours. It has been a remarkable year for you and Bountiful is the icing on your cake. I enjoyed the video but have to say that I was just a bit surprised at your voice. As I read your site I am always mentally giving you a very heavy southern accent. I live in SE Ohio close to West Virginia and some here have quite the “hillbilly’ accent. The lemon bars are a classic here and doesn’t the powdered sugar just look like snow-they just seem “cool” to me and the mint sprig is the perfect topper. Bill Gent came through with a lovely rendition of the anniversary song. I am going to go check his blog and volunteer to be another sister of the heart.
Hey Elaine!
Eeeeek, I’ve always hated my voice. I’ve always thought I sounded like a man. Which is fine – if you are a man. 🙂
As far as accents go, I don’t give it much thought when talking. I was born and raised in Alabama by parents and grandparents who were born and raised in Alabama so I figure thats about as authentic as it gets! I can make it thicker if I want to try to get things done ~winks~ a’la Scarlett O’Hara.
Most actors and actresses doing a Southern accent end up with what (to us) is a humorous parody, even though they think it sounds pretty good. 🙂
Thank you so much for reading! I’m sure Bill will adopt ya!
Gratefully,
Christy
Of course I will adopt ya Elaine!
Good-I need a brother. I went to your blog and it was delightful. You are quite the wit!
Oh yes, I love to do a fake movie stah Suthin’ akseeyent! 😉
Why yayus, we kin all sound lahk Julia Roberts in Steeyull Magnoyliyahs! Lawd knows she wus a southrun guhl bowun ayund brayuhd, but she didn’t really tawk like that neithuh! 🙂
On a serious note, I have a dear friend (and reader) who is from New York and I am working on a New York Accent! I can say several things so far that I think are pretty on the spot! ~giggles~
I know how to say Boston like a native!! Instead of Baw-sten” like I normally say it!
Happy Anniversary Christy! The video was awesome!! Great job to Terri and Bill as well. I love Lemon Bars and can’t wait to make these again. It’s been too long!! Wishing you many more anniversaries!!
Alisha
Oh, Alisha…thank you ever so much for the “great job”! We, the adults and kids, had a ball filming, eating, and planning. The out-takes woulda been amusing too, methinks. What a wonderful, warm Southern Lady that Christy is!! Puu-leeeze make these lemon bars, right away, and share some with somebody! They are amazing, refreshing, and deli-SHISH. I almost fell to the floor eatin’ them thar bars. Hope to meet you one day @ SP mtg.
~Claps, squeals, and runs in place~
THANK YOU SO MUCH!!!!
yummers, gotta see if I have powdered sugar I need to try these 😀 Carm
Hey there my little sweet potato! (Y’all, that is one of her handles somewhere, I’m not getting fresh with dear carmen here! lol).
If you don’t have powdered sugar just gimme a holler and I’ll bring over a cup!!!
Gratefully,
Christy 🙂
HAAAAAAAAAAPY Aniver-sary!
Wow Christy Lou…(Or my special pet name for you, Stinkerbelle)
I can’t believe we’ve known each other for a year. Time flies when you’re having fun. I only wish we lived closer together so you could call and yell “Come help me goofus!” and of course, I would. Ya know why? Cause you is my Sistah!
Honestly, I wish you were my blood sister but as it turns out, you are my sister of the heart, which is just as good if not better.
I thank God for you, your friendship, your love and your pestering… oh yeah, and not laughing when I tell you my latest cooking mistake… at least not laughing to ME! HA!
Congrats on one year.. here’s to many more. May the Lord bless you, Ricky and the kids.
~hugs Bill~
You know I love ya, Bill. Think I’m gonna trade in my rl brother for you ~snickers~. You have the same name, anyway.
Thank you for everything, absolutely everything. Only you know how much that entails!
Bless your heart!
Love ya,
Christy
I love lemon bars. I noticed the DG flour right because we’ve used it before ourselves not as much anymore because Dollar General is a dangerous store to take a 2 year old to due to all the toys. I also think we have the same measuring cups.
Great minds think (and shop) alike!!
Totally with ya on the Dollar general thing! We have a Dollar General Market though and I just love that place! Like a Super Wal Mart, only you get out faster! hehe