Recipes

[Carol1229]

I love the flavor of lemon in both savory and sweet dishes. I love the freshness it adds to savory dishes and the brightness it adds to baked goods.

There are a million and one recipes for this bar in cookbooks and on the Internet. I got this one from our neighbor's sister when she submitted it to the church cookbook Robin and I put together a few years ago. Dee is a wonderful cook and baker so we were delighted when she shared some of her favorite recipes.

What I love about this recipe is how easy it is. It uses basic pantry ingredients, goes together quickly and has never failed to please.

I have stayed pretty true to the recipe except I cut back a touch on the amount of sugar in the filling-the original recipe calls for 1 3/4 cup-I went down to 1 1/2 cups. I think the next time I'm going to cut it back a little more. I enjoy a nice tart lemon bar and with the confectioners' sugar over top, I think I'd be fine with less sugar than this time. I also used the zest from the lemon that I squeezed for the juice-I believe in getting as much lemon flavor as I can into that filling.

Dee never said anything about greasing the pan for these squares in her recipe-I highly suggest lining the pan with foil, letting the excess extend up the sides of the pan. It makes it super easy to remove the squares from the pan, and even easier to cut them on a flat surface rather in the pan. I also like refrigerating these overnight then cutting them when they're cold....you get a nice clean cut.

I made these to take to Robin and Ray's on Sunday-they were a nice addition to her Easter brunch.

I hope all of you lemon lovers will love them as much as we do. Thanks so much Dee for sharing your favorite recipe in our cookbook-it's become a favorite in this house too.

Carol



DEE'S LEMON SQUARES
(Source: adapted from Heart and Soul-recipes from family and friends of the United Church of Shirley MA-recipe submitted by Dee Halligan)

CRUST:
1 c. butter or margarine, softened
1/2 c. confectioners' sugar
2 c. all-purpose flour

FILLING:
4 eggs
1 1/2 c. granulated sugar
1/3 c. freshly squeezed lemon juice
Grated rind of 1 large lemon
1/2 c. all-purpose flour
1/2 tsp. baking powder
Confectioners' sugar for sprinkling over top of squares

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Line a 13x9x2-inch baking pan with foil, letting excess foil extend over sides of pan. Set aside.

For the crust, cream the butter and confectioners' sugar until well blended. Stir the flour in with a wooden spoon until well blended. Pat the crust mixture evenly in the prepared pan. Bake @ 350 degrees for 20 minutes.

While the crust is baking, combine the eggs, granulated sugar, lemon juice, and zest; mix well. Whisk in the flour and baking powder until well combined and mixture is smooth.

Pour the filling over the hot crust, return the pan to the oven and bake @ 350 degrees for 25 minutes more.

Let squares cool completely in the pan on a wire rack. If desired, cover and refrigerate until cold.

Using the excess foil, lift the squares from the pan to a cutting board. Peel the foil away from the sides of the squares. Sprinkle confectioners' sugar over the top of the bars; cut into squares. Makes 24.