Meyer Lemon Bars with Lemon Shortbread Crust

I love Meyer lemons! I am even dreaming of having a Meyer lemon tree in my house. 🙂

This dessert recipe was adapted from ViewfromtheGreatIsland.com. They are made with an entire Meyer lemon- minus the seeds. The crust incorporates the zest from another entire lemon which made them packed with flavor. It was essential to eat them cold, after being chilled for four hours to overnight, so they must be made in advance.

Yield: about 12 servings (one 9×9-inch pan)

For the Crust:

• zest from one Meyer lemon
• 1/4 cup granulated sugar
• 1 1/2 cups all purpose flour
• 3/4 cup cold unsalted butter, cut in pieces

For the Filling:

• 1 whole Meyer lemon, about 4-6 ounces
• 1 cup granulated sugar
• 4 large eggs
• 2 T cornstarch
• pinch of coarse salt

To Prepare:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees, preferably on convection.
2. Grease and line a 9×9 inch pan with parchment paper.

To Make the Crust:

1. Using a sharp vegetable peeler, peel the zest from one Meyer lemon, taking only the yellow part, with little to none of the white part, which is bitter.
2. Put the zest and sugar into a food processor and process until the two are well combined and the zest has completely incorporated into the sugar. You will still see tiny specks of zest, but no big pieces. Keep processing until you get to that stage.
3. Add the flour, and cold butter to the bowl and pulse/process until the mixture is moist, crumbly, and almost comes together into a lump.
4. Sprinkle the crust mixture into your prepared baking pan and pat down firmly and evenly. You should have a layer of even thickenss.
5. Bake for about 17 minutes. Meanwhile, prepare the filling.

To Make the Filling:

1. Thinly slice the second Meyer lemon and remove any seeds. Tip: do this over a bowl so you don’t lose any juice.
2. Put the lemon and accumulated juice into a high speed blender like Vitamix or a food processor.
3. Add the sugar to the lemon and puree until smooth. Scrape down the sides of the container, if necessary, to get a smooth puree.
4. Add the eggs, cornstarch, and salt, and purée briefly until well combined.
5. Pour the filling mixture through a fine mesh strainer to remove any lumps or bubbles.
6. Pour the strained filling onto the hot crust immediately after it comes out of the oven.
7. Put the lemon bars back into the oven and bake for another 15 to 20 minutes, or until firm and just starting to take on some golden color. Don’t over bake.
8. Let the bars cool completely on a rack, then put them in the refrigerator to chill for 4 hours or up to overnight.
9. When cold, remove the bars using the parchment paper “handles,” and slice into squares.
10. Dust with powdered sugar just before serving.

About Josette@thebrookcook

I live in Stony Brook, New York on Long Island. I love garlic and baking. My hobby (and love) is to try new recipes. My favorite recipe resources include The New York Times, Food and Wine, Bon Appetit, and Martha Stewart Living. Enjoy!

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