Glazed Lemon Pie Bars — Buttery soft crust with luscious lemon filling and a lemon glaze boosts the bold lemon flavor even more!! If you like lemon pie, you’ll love these easy bars that are so much easier than making pie!!
Easy Lemon Bars with Lemon Pie Filling
My daughter adores lemon desserts and I wanted to make something she’d love.
However, I’ve made umpteen lemon desserts over the years — including a Better-Than-Starbucks Copycat Lemon Bread, Lmon Cookies, multiple lemon bars, lemon cakes — and was trying to think of a new and unique lemon dessert.
Then I remembered that the Glazed Cherry Pie Bars I recently made would be great with a lemon filling. I swapped cherry pie filling for lemon filling and topped the bars with a lemon glaze to boost the lemon flavor even more.
The crust is buttery, soft, and tender while the filling is juicy and luscious with the perfect amount of sweet-yet-tart flavor. And pie bars are so much faster and easier than making a pie. A definite bonus.
It’s a great recipe for parties, events, and holiday celebrations because it makes enough to feed a crowd. But not an issue here with my little lemon lover.
What’s in Lemon Pie Bars?
To make these lemon bars with lemon pie filling, you’ll need:
- Unsalted butter
- Granulated sugar
- Salt
- Vanilla extract
- Eggs
- Almond extract
- All-purpose flour
- Lemon pie filling
- Confectioners’ sugar
- Lemon juice
How to Make Lemon Pie Bars
Beat together the butter and sugar, then stir in the eggs and extracts. Add the flour last, mixing until just combined.
Turn about 75% of the dough into a jelly roll pan and smooth out into an even layer. Top with lemon pie filling. Dollop the remaining dough over top.
Bake the lemon pie bars until the dough around the edges of the pan is a light golden brown. Let the bars cool completely before topping with the lemon glaze.
Do I Have to Use a Jelly Roll Pan?
No! I baked the bars using a 15x10x1-inch jelly roll pan and appreciate that they don’t turn out overly thick. However, you could probably use a 9×13-inch pan noting the bars will be thicker and the baking time will be longer.
Tips for Making This Easy Lemon Dessert
For even more lemon flavor, use lemon extract instead of almond extract.
If you do use the almond extract, don’t add any more than the recipe calls for. Unlike vanilla extract — which I always add with a very generous hand — almond extract is very potent and can quickly overwhelm a dessert.
You can serve these bars chilled or at room temperature. My family likes them cold, but I like them warm. Do what you like!
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Glazed Lemon Pie Bars
Ingredients
Bars
- 1 cup unsalted butter, softened
- 2 cups granulated sugar
- ½ teaspoon salt, or to taste
- 4 large eggs
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- ¼ teaspoon almond extract, or 1/2 teaspoon if you love almond extract; lemon extract may be substituted
- 3 cups all-purpose flour
- two 23-ounce jars lemon pie filling
Glaze
- 1 ¼ cups confectioners’ sugar, sifted if yours is particularly lumpy
- ½ teaspoon vanilla extract
- ½ teaspoon almond extract, lemon extract may be substituted
- 2 to 3 tablespoons lemon juice, as necessary for consistency
Instructions
Bars:
- Preheat oven to 350F. Spray a 15x10x1-inch jelly roll pan with cooking spray; set aside. Optionally, line the pan with a sheet of foil and spray with cooking spray. The advantage is you can lift the bars out by the foil and cut them more neatly on a cutting board.
- To the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment (or large bowl and handheld electric mixer), add the butter, sugar, salt, and beat on medium-high speed until light and fluffy, about 3 minutes. Stop and scrape down the sides of the bowl.
- Add the eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition. Stop and scrape down the sides of the bowl.
- Add the extracts and beat on medium-high speed to incorporate, about 30 seconds.
- Gradually add the flour and beat on medium-low speed to incorporate, about 1 minute.
- Turn about 75% of the dough out into a prepared pan and spread with a spatula to create a smooth, even, flat layer. It’s sticky, tacky, and requires some patience, but just keep spreading and finessing it into the corners.
- Add the pie filling and spread to evenly distribute leaving a 1/4-inch bare margin from edges of pan. It spreads while baking and trying to prevent filling from sticking to sides of pan is advised so it doesn’t burn.
- Drop remaining dough by 2-teaspoonfuls over pie filling. It’s very sticky and I find it easiest to use a 2-tablespoon cookie scoop filled about halfway. The dough will spread together somewhat as the bars bake.
- Bake for 35 minutes, or until dough on top and around the edges is very lightly golden brown.
- Allow bars to cool completely in pan on a wire rack.
Glaze:
- To a medium bowl, add the confectioners’ sugar, extracts, and enough lemon juice to reach desired consistency.
- Evenly drizzle glaze over the bars and serve immediately.
Notes
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
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More Lemon Dessert Ideas:
Lemon Lemonies – Like brownies, but made with lemon and white chocolate! Dense, chewy, not cakey and packed with big, bold lemon flavor!
The Best Lemon Loaf (Better-Than-Starbucks Copycat) – Took years but I finally recreated it! Easy, no mixer, no cake mix, dangerously good!!
Lightened Up Blueberry Lemon Pound Cake – No BUTTER in this healthier cake with big juicy blueberries and refreshing lemon! It’s a keeper!
Blueberry Lemon Cake with Lemon Glaze – Almost more berries than cake in this soft, fluffy cake!
Lemon Buttermilk Cake with Lemon Glaze – An easy little cake with big lemon flavor!! Soft, fluffy, and foolproof if you like puckering up!
Lemon Cupcakes with Lemon Cream Cheese Frosting — Soft, fluffy, moist, very lemony cupcakes from scratch! Easy one-bowl, no-mixer recipe for cupcakes that taste like they’re from a bakery!
Softbatch Glazed Lemon Cream Cheese Cookies — Big, bold lemon flavor packed into super soft cookies thanks to the cream cheese! Tangy-sweet perfection! Lemon lovers are going to adore these easy cookies!
Soft and Chewy Lemon Cookies – Packed with big, bold lemon flavor for all you lemon lovers! They’re soft, chewy and not at all cakey!
Strawberry Lemonade Bars — Imagine crossing lemon bars with a strawberry pie. These easy bars taste like strawberry lemonade! Sooo good!