Easy Lemon Bar Recipe (With Video Tutorial)
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
Its Sept. 09 and your video goes on…..I love it…especially the intermission…I just sang along with yall. Lemon bars are one of my fav’s that my mom used to make for the family. You make everything you do look so easy…Enjoy all your posts..
I finally found THE video you told me about. How Cool! My chickens and even Me! Ha!
K
These are a family favorite at our house too and we have a similar recipe handed down from a generation or too as well.
Regards,
CCR =:~)
Christy, congratulations on a year of this beautiful craziness. I just discovered your site this morning looking for lemon chess pie. I then went to the home page and saw this very well done video. I was laughing so much at the fun you and Terri were having that I forgot to pay attention. I haven’t been around Southern people much at all since leaving the South many years ago but I do recall the warmth of Southern folk and the really unique and delicious food. It was also good to hear the Southern voice also. While I do not know the song you were singing it did bring a laugh from my Italian face and a smile in my heart. I did notice that your voices dropped out of range a couple of times but turning up my volume to full found that you are both actually quiet funny. I hope you do more of these videos. The lemon bars sound luscious and I intend to try them soon.
Thank you so much,
Paolo
I made these bars today, and this is the best lemon bar recipe ever! Lemon bars are one of my favorites so I had to try these as they looked easy, and I had everything to make them already. I have a recipe that I have used in the past that had cream cheese in it, but it was not as good as this one. And I have used the boxed mixes before, and they were okay, but not like this. I had a bottle of key lime juice that I used instead of the lemon juice to make key lime bars. They are to die for! I will be putting these on my list for the bake sale that we do every fall for my daughter’s marching band. Lemon bars are very popular sellers there. Thank you for sharing the recipe!
I enjoyed your video. I hope you do more. Congratulations on your one year anniversary. I sure do enjoy visiting you here!
Happy Anniversary Christy! LOVED the video, and lemon bars are my favortie thing on earth, I cannot wait to make some myself!
Keep up the great work, I LOVE southern plate!
ZuzanaHi Terri, first of all, thank you so much for you words. I have you on facebook and I read your lines every day. Very often itb4s extclay what I need to hear. My biggest fear is about my future. I am soon to be out of work (maternity leave substitute), building a new house in the home town where is no work (having a loan for the next 30 years), trying to get pregnant and after baby to set up a cosmetic business. All of this is a lot to take in one time but since I have started focusing on my thoughts, I am getting through much easier. Whatever gets in my way, I am really trying to understand why. I do have difficulties sometimes but because I have my dreams I keep going. I am trying to focus on myself instead of other peopleb4s thoughts, worries and anxiety. I am willing to try to achieve my dreams and always understand to what is happening to me. Your words help me a lot to get over my fear so thank you once again, Z.
Hi Christy!
Congratulations on your first year! Love the video! You rock!! 😀
:: Estwee