Lemon Bars

When the weather turns warm, I find my taste-buds adapt accordingly. Gone are the cravings for carbs, warm soup and creamy pasta. I find myself gravitating towards fruity dishes, lots of fish and especially citrus! 

When the weather began warming up last week. And by "warming up" I mean to say that New York had record-breaking highs for most of the week. For some people, that meant time spent playing frisbee in the park and enjoying margaritas at outdoor restaurants. To me, that meant a 90+ degree office because the building won't turn on the air conditioning before Memorial Day and we can't open any of our windows. I sat melting away in a stuffy office for most of the week. 

In retaliation, I made lemon bars.

These are great, gooey lemon bars that pack a pucker-worthy citrus punch! I doubled the lemon filling and baked for a few extra minutes, which I showed below. The crust is a great building block for the filling and compliments it without being too much like shortbread (which I think sometimes overtakes lemon bars). 

Lemon Bars from Eating, Etc.

Crust:
 2 cups all-purpose flour
 1 cup unsalted butter, softened
 1/2 cup powdered sugar

Filling:
8 eggs 
4 cups sugar
12 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
8 tablespoons flour 
2 teaspoons baking powder
Pinch of salt
Zest from 1 lemon 

Crust:
In a medium bowl, mix together the flour, butter and powdered sugar. Spread in a 9 by 13 inch pan. Bake at 350 degrees for 20-25 minutes. While crust is baking, work on the filling to be immediately poured over hot crust.

Filling:
In a large bowl, mix all filling ingredients together with a spoon (do not use a mixer). Pour filling over hot crust. Bake at 350 degrees for 25-28 minutes. While still hot, sprinkle with powdered sugar. Let cool for 15 minutes and then cut into squares. Store in the refrigerator.