Lemon Shortbread Bars – Lord Byron’s Kitchen

9 April 2024

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Pucker up! These Lemon Shortbread Bars are perfectly balanced with tartness from the lemons and sweetness from the sugar. The easy to prepare lemon filling is baked right on top of that homemade buttery shortbread crust. Perfect to serve at Easter brunch, a light and refreshing summer dessert, but so delicious you can whip up a batch of these for any occasion!

I live in a world where food is comfortable, recognizable, and easy to pronounce. And, in that world, desserts are sweet, rustic, simple, and no-fuss. In the world I am talking about, Lemon Shortbread Bars fit right in! These bars are a perfect treat or dessert any time of the year, but for some reason – blame it on society if you will – any dessert that has lemons as a main ingredient, always seems to taste better in spring and summer. Am I alone in my thinking?

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These Lemon Shortbread Bars are a great sweet treat to start with if you’re new to baking. They’re easy to make, have very inexpensive ingredients, and the results are pretty much guaranteed to be perfect every time. Seriously, Dear Reader, it would be extremely difficult to mess up this recipe!

Creating a shortbread base is very easy to do and you’ll love the crumbly, cookie-like texture of this particular one. And, to top it all off, you get a soft, sweet, gooey-like texture on top of the shortbread base, which creates a flood of taste and texture in your mouth. Serve this treat with hot tea on a stay-at-home Saturday or Sunday afternoon, and it’s bound to put a smile on everyone’s face.

BAKING IS A GREAT WAY TO SPEND YOUR ALONE TIME

Even though my mom never made this particular recipe; not that I can recall anyway, this recipe reminds me so much of her. My mom loved to cook and bake and I credit much of my love for food to her. Our home was never without a homemade square, bar, cookie, cake, or pie. And, she learned everything she knew about cooking and baking from her mom.

I wish I could say the same thing! My mom never let me near the kitchen – except to help with the dishes or something like that. Much like me, she liked to be alone in the kitchen. Having someone help or having to show someone what to do, only slowed her down.

In my own life, there are many times when I will complain about having to take care of all of the cooking and baking in our home even though John.e will often offer to help and so will McKenna when she’s visiting. Nonetheless, I always politely decline. If I have to tell someone how to crack an egg or how to properly measure a cup of flour, I’d prefer just to do it myself. But, they’re both great with the cleaning up! Even on the weekends when I bang out two or three recipes back to back for this blog, John.e is right there to wash up the dishes! I appreciate that much more.

INGREDIENTS NEEDED TO PREPARE THIS RECIPE

The following is a list of the ingredients needed to prepare this recipe. The exact amounts and measurements can be found in the printable recipe card located near the bottom of this post.

FOR THE BASE:

Butter – Make sure your butter is softened and at room temperature! I always use salted butter, unless stated otherwise. To be perfectly honest, there’s never much of a difference in taste or appearance once all is said and done. Use what you have on hand.
Sugar – Sugar has more than one function in baking. Not only does it add sweetness, but it will caramelize too, which will help to brown cookies and cakes.
Flour – No need for anything special. Just use regular all-purpose flour. I have not tried this recipe with any other type of flour.

FOR THE TOPPING:

Sugar
Flour
Eggs – Whenever you set out to bake, make sure your eggs are at room temperature too – just like your butter!
Lemon Juice – You must use fresh-squeezed lemon juice here.
Lemon Zest
Confectioner’s Sugar

HOW TO MAKE LEMON SHORTBREAD BARS

Preheat your oven to 350 degrees F. Line a 9×13-inch baking pan with parchment paper or lightly coat the interior of the pan with non-stick cooking spray. Set aside. Transfer the butter to a bowl and beat for 30-60 seconds. Add the flour and sugar to the butter and beat until just combined. Transfer the flour and butter mixture to the prepared baking pan and lightly press into the pan to form a flattened crust. Bake for 20 minutes.

In the meantime, measure all of the filling ingredients into a bowl and beat lightly to combine. After 20 minutes, remove the baking pan from the oven and pour the lemon filling mixture over top. Return the baking pan to the oven for an additional 20 minutes.

Once baked, remove the lemon bars from the oven and immediately dust them with the confectioner’s sugar. Set the pan aside and allow the bars to fully cool before slicing.

HOW TO LINE YOUR BAKING PAN FOR EASY CUTTING

For this recipe, you will need to line a 9×13 inch baking pan with parchment paper. Fold the parchment paper so that it fits snugly in the pan. I use two sheets – one folded to fit the length of the pan and another folded to fit across the pan. Allow the excess parchment paper to hang out over the side of the pan. Coat the parchment paper with a thin layer of non-stick cooking spray. Once the recipe is fully prepared and fully cooled, use the excess parchment to lift the whole thing out of the pan. Transfer it to a cutting board and make long even slices with a sharp knife.

STORING, PACKAGING, AND FREEZING

These squares will stay fresh for about 3-5 days in a covered container and in a cool place. But, if you plan to freeze these squares, use a food-safe container that can be frozen. You’ll want to ensure a very tight-fitting lid too. (I use these quite often when freezing baked goods.) I like to place a sheet of plastic wrap over the top of the container before pushing the lid on. This helps to create a better seal. The goal is to keep all of that freshness locked in!

You can freeze these Lemon Shortbread Bars for up to three months. They will come out of the freezer looking just like they did when you put them in there as long as you don’t stack them. If you must stack, lay a sheet of parchment paper between each layer. To thaw, remove bars from the freezer and place them on a wire cooling rack for 20 minutes. Once you thaw them, they will taste just as fresh, and be just as soft, as the day you first baked them.

QUESTIONS?

If I have not answered all of your questions in the text above, don’t hesitate to reach out to me! You can contact me by sending me a message in the comments section further down the page. I will try my best to answer as soon as possible! You might reach me even faster by following me on Facebook and sending me a private message. Scroll down below the recipe card to find my Follow Me on Social Media box and never miss another recipe!

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