Lemon Lemonies — Like lemon brownies, but made with lemon and white chocolate! Dense, chewy, not cakey and packed with big, bold lemon flavor!
Best Ever Lemon Brownie Recipe
If you like lemon, you’re going to love these bars. They’re packed with bold lemon flavor and are not for the faint of heart.
I’ve seen recipes on Pinterest for similar bars that are called lemon blondies, lemon brownies, or lemon lemonies. My fast, easy, no-mixer version is heavy on the lemon zing and lemonies seems the most fitting.
If you’re looking for traditional lemon bars or a fluffy lemon cake, the lemonies are not it. They’re the lemon equivalent of moist, fudgy brownies with zero traces of cakiness. They’re tooth-sinkingly dense with subtle buttery undertones like blondies have.
After pouring the glaze over the warm bars right as they emerge from the oven, it sets up, seeps into the brownies, and makes them even moister, softer, and more lemony.
With each bite of a lemonie, I wanted another. It’s the type of food that the more you have, the more you want. The boldly tart-yet-sweet element really kept me going back to straighten the rows.
And the texture is exactly what I want in bars. Dense, rich, moist, chewy, and thick enough to be so satisfying.
Between my row straightening and my family’s love for lemon things, the lemonies disappeared fast.
Ingredients for Lemon Brownies
To make the addicting lemony lemon brownies, you’ll need:
- White chocolate chips
- Unsalted butter
- Eggs
- Granulated sugar
- Lemon juice
- All-purpose flour
- Salt
- Confectioners’ sugar
- Lemon zest
How to Make Lemon Brownies
These lemon blondies are incredibly easy to prepare. Instead of milk or dark chocolate, the lemon lemonies are made with melted white chocolate.
Here’s an overview of how the lemon brownie recipe is made:
- Melt the white chocolate and butter together in the microwave.
- Wait a minute or two before adding the eggs, then add the eggs, granulated sugar, and lemon juice, then whisk until combined.
- Stir in the dry ingredients and then turn into an 8×8-inch baking dish.
- These lemon brownies need to bake until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out mostly clean, or with a few moist crumbs, but no batter.
- Once the lemon brownies are finished baking, set them aside and whisk together the lemon glaze. Pour the glaze over the brownies.
Tip
You’ll then need to let them cool on your countertop for 2 to 3 hours before slicing and serving.
Can I Use Another Citrus Juice Besides Lemon Juice?
Yes! I’ve actually made these lemon brownies as Orange Orangies as well. You may be able to make a lime version too, but I haven’t tried it out yet.
Can I Double This Recipe?
You most likely can double this recipe and bake the lemon brownies in a 9×13-inch pan. You may need to bump up the baking time though.
Tips for Making Lemon Brownies
The lemon brownies themselves are not super lemony, thanks to melted white chocolate that’s stirred into the batter, but the glaze is pretty zippy. If you want to dial back the overall lemon intensity of the dessert, halve the recipe for the glaze, and drizzle it on like this, rather than flooding the entire surface.
But with lemon desserts, I generally prefer bold lemon flavor, and nothing is every too lemony for my daughter. She picks lemons slices out of ice water and eats them as if they were orange slices. Pucker much.
And it goes without saying that you should use freshly squeezed lemon juice for this spring dessert. The bottled stuff doesn’t hold a candle to juice straight from a lemon!
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Lemon Lemonies
Ingredients
For the Bars
- ¾ cup white chocolate chips
- ½ cup unsalted butter, 1 stick, melted
- 2 large eggs
- ¾ cup granulated sugar
- ¼ cup lemon juice
- 1 ¾ cups all-purpose flour
- pinch salt, optional and to taste
For the Glaze
- 2 cups confectioners’ sugar
- ⅓ cup lemon juice, or as necessary for consistency
- 1 tablespoon lemon zest, or to taste
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350F. Line an 8-by-8-inch baking pan with aluminum foil, spray with cooking spray; set aside.
For the Bars:
- In a large, microwave-safe bowl add the white chocolate, butter, and heat to melt, about 2 minutes on high power. Stop to check and stir after 1 minute, and then heat in 20-second bursts, stopping to stir after each burst, until mixture can be stirred smooth. White chocolate is very prone to scorching and seizing up, so watch it carefully and don’t overheat.
- Wait momentarily before adding the eggs so you don’t scramble them. Add the eggs, granulated sugar, lemon juice, and whisk until combined.
- Add the flour, optional salt, and stir until just combined; don’t overmix.
- Turn batter out into prepared pan, smoothing the top lightly with a spatula.
- Bake for about 27 to 28 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out mostly clean, or with a few moist crumbs, but no batter; set aside and make the glaze.
For the Glaze:
- In a medium bowl, add 2 cup confectioners’ sugar, 1/3 cup lemon juice, and whisk until smooth. As necessary, add additional lemon juice (or sugar) to reach desired glaze consistency. I used slightly over 1/3 cup lemon juice. Glaze should be fairly thin and easily pourable.
- Evenly pour glaze over bars, smoothing it lightly with a spatula if necessary, but glaze will likely just slide into place.
Evenly sprinkle with lemon zest. - Allow bars to cool in pan uncovered for at least 2 to 3 hours, (or overnight and cover with a sheet of foil) before slicing and serving so glaze can set up.
Notes
- Bars will keep airtight at room temperature for up to 1 week, or in the freezer for up to 6 months.
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
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More Easy Lemon Desserts:
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 – They pack a powerful lemon punch, they’re soft and dense rather than cakey, and they’re thick enough to sink your teeth into!
Lemon Buttermilk Cake with Lemon Glaze — If you’re a lemon lover, you’ll love the perfectly tart yet just sweet enough big pop of lemon flavor this soft and fluffy cake has.
Blueberry Lemon Cake with Lemon Glaze — The cake is packed with sweet, juicy blueberries and while there’s lemon in the batter, it’s the lemon glaze that really brings out the tartly-sweet lemon flavor that complements the blueberries so well.
The Best Lemon Loaf (Better-Than-Starbucks Copycat) – Took years but I finally recreated it!! Easy, no mixer, no cake mix, dangerously good, and SPOT ON!!
Lemon Olive Oil Cake – My new FAVORITE lemon dessert of all time!! Lemon zest, juice, extract, and Limoncello add so much AMAZING lemon flavor to this EASY, ridiculously moist no-mixer cake that’s unique and INCREDIBLE!!
Lemon Coconut White Chocolate Gooey Bars — The lemon base is soft and chewy, there’s coconut and white chocolate chips for extra texture, and sweetened condensed milk peeks through the top.
Strawberry Lemon Crescent Ring — This fast and easy ring that’s ready in 30 minutes has strawberries with lemon and cream cheese incorporated for a tangy pop.
Glazed Lemon Pie Bars — The crust is buttery, soft, and tender while the filling is juicy and luscious with the perfect amount of sweet-yet-tart flavor and a lemon glaze boosts the lemon flavor even more.
Originally published June 14, 2014 and reposted February 28, 2020 with updated text.
Do you think you would get the same texture when using gluten free flour? I need a lemon dessert for a group and one person is allergic to wheat. mona
I don’t bake with GF flour so I really cannot say. I would use one of the cup-for-cup varities and do a trial run and see how it goes.
@Mona Did you end up trying it? how did it go?
No, the person who is wheat intolerant didn’t attend the meeting so I didn’t have to avoid gluten. I’ve kept the recipe though to try when he attends the next meeting. Thanks again. mona
Thank you so much for your prompt reply! I did decide to go with the orangie bars, and I added some coconut as well and they turned out awesome!
Your site has become a go-to for recipes including some jewish and middle-eastern recipes and now I will have to check out the dessert and treat recipes as well. Good job, and thanks again.
Glad my site has become a go-to for you, including some ethnic inspired recipes it sounds like you’re trying! Thanks for making things!
Do you have a similar recipe that uses orange juice and zest? I am going to make this lemonie recipe first because I love lemon, but lately I have a craving for something orange flavoured. Thanks much from Toronto.
Yes exactly the same thing but with orange! https://www.averiecooks.com/orange-lemon-orangies/
We love your lemon lemonies! They are the BOMB! Don’t change a thing. Follow the recipe exactly and they are amazing!
Thanks for trying the recipe and glad you love this recipe without any changes!
First Id love to say, Mrs Averie, I absolutely LOVE all of your recipes. (I haven’t strayed too far from the cookie bar section truthfully, but shall eventually!) The 1+1+1 method has always made things exceptionally easy for a girl that couldn’t cook anything that didn’t come from a box until age 25 (lol).
Now…..these lemonies. YUM, YUM GIRL! They are absolutely fantastic! I had created my own “lemonie” based on a dozen recipes id stumbled upon on Pinterest. Many batches too cakey & dry, some that were a reminder of eating a butter stick with lemon zest. I thought I had perfected my method until I found this one. The white chocolate ingredient made me stop and pause a moment. I made this particular recipe for my hubby and in laws last year desperate to convince my new mother-in-law I was capable of creating “lemon heaven” as we call it. My entire family loved them so much I made an additional pan the following day! (This wasn’t too unusual as my husband endured MANY DAYS of lemonie baking while pregnant with our son and all I wanted was this sweet, tangy treat 24/7) Before the in laws left for home I shared I had gotten the recipe from your blog. She smiled and said ” Honey, where did you think I learned half of the treats MY husband eats?” then winked and off they went. To this day whenever I see this recipe I stop and smile to recall that memory….then head for my pantry to see if I have white chocolate lol!
Thanks for the fantastic lemonie bar recipe….bc you nailed it sweetie! So far each cookie bar i’ve made from your blog has been success and this one tops my personal list.
(FOR THOSE CURIOUS….TRY THEM! THEY ARE DEF WORTH IT!! JUST FOLLOW THE STEPS EXACTLY WITHOUT SUBBING ANYTHING AND YOU WILL BE VERY PLEASED!!)
With gratitude in Mississippi,
Jen
What an amazing comment and thank you for taking the time to write! I am glad you love these lemonies soooo much and that your MIL and whole family just love them so much as well!
What a sweet comment! I hope to make these ( or the Fudgy Banana version) soon, but I love when people take the time to leave sincere comments. Much love to you all!
Just to keep the LOVE alive: I love all of you sweet (& sincere) ladies! And I followed this recipe to a “T” AND LOVE these lemonie brownies! Thanks Averie! Great job! Love & Happiness to All! It’s 2021 and it’s time to express your (sincere) LOVE to (and for) this damaged world! The world needs MORE LOVE and we need it NOW and let the Lord back in! (And we need more dedicated food bloggers (like Averie) sharing dynamite recipes for more calorie-filled happiness in the world! Love to ALL!
Thank you for the wonderful and kind comment, I really appreciate it! I have been doing this fulltime since 2009, 12+ years now, and I appreciate your support with my recipes and glad you love this one!
Can anyone help me with the measurements, temp and bake time to make this for a 9×13?
I would just double all the ingredients and bake for approx the same amount of time, same temp, keep an eye on it but that is my recommendation.
Hi Averie,
I am excited to try these bars. Do you recommend freezing them with or without the glaze?
Thanks!
Desiree
Without. Enjoy!
I get the best recipes from you. Thank you very much. So fun to try them. Hummmm what’s for dinner. Hahahaha
Glad you’re enjoying them and are having fun!
I made these last week, hit among everyone who liked lemon, thank you for the good recipe. I did follow the suggestion someone made about poking holes and pouring the glaze into the holes. I personally don’t like lemon and I am wondering if it would be possible to make this using orange instead since it is another similar type citrus fruit.
Yes it is very possible because I know other readers have left comments telling me they’ve done so with OJ and orange extract. Good luck!
These are DElicious!!! Who cares if they’re not as yellow as the pictures…?! And what strikes me about them is how moist they have stayed after a few days. They seem to get yummier and more moist and lemony with each passing day. Big winner. Thank you so much for sharing!!!
Glad you love them and I agree – they get even moister and lemony with the passing days! And people can always add yellow food coloring if they want them super vibrant.
After YEARS of having friends suggest Pinterest, I finally signed up. I am definitely not proficient at it. I have been searching for a way to pin your lemon bars for 3 days! I am using a phone which might make it different. I have hit the p at the top, but it only sends me to follow your whole site. (Which is probably a good idea since I have also now browsed tons of your recipes) That said I still can’t pin just this recipe though I had no trouble with quite a few others. I know this is the wrong place to ask, but help!!
https://www.pinterest.com/pin/11188699049561428/ That should work for you. Laptop or desktop is way easier than mobile in my experience. Good luck!
These were delicious! I used salted butter, since I was too lazy to go to the store to get the unsalted variety, and just omitted the pinch of of salt. I skipped the glaze to reduce the sweetness. Lastly, I increased the fresh-squeezed lemon juice to 1/2 cup because we love lemons.
The bars turned out DELICIOUS! The hubs gobbled them up. He’s totally not a cake/brownie/pastry guy, but the yummy, zesty lemon was what did it for him.
Has anyone tried these with lime juice? I’m wondering if they taste just as good.
Also, would this recipe work if I used fresh strawberry puree instead of lemon juice? Sorry if this is a silly question. I’ve only ever baked 3 things from scratch: 2 meyer lemon tarts from a Martha Stewart recipe, and the lemon lemonies.
Thanks for trying the recipe and I’m glad it came out great for you like you made it!
I haven’t tried with key lime or lime juice but I bet they’d be great! I don’t recommend strawberry puree as it’s a completely different consistency and I don’t think would be as successful.
I made these a few weeks ago for my sons birthday. Everybody loved them. I was disappointed because there was no leftovers ;)
These are my favorite! I am so happy I found your page.
Greetings from Germany!!!
Thanks for trying the recipe and glad it came out great for you! Thanks for reading all the way from Germany!
These look wonderfull !
Flour in recipe is: 1 cup + 3/4 , is that right ?
Thank you.
yes 1 cup + 3/4 cup
I made these a couple of days ago! The lemonies themselves were as promised. Delicious, chewy, moist!! The glaze was too much and affected their flavor ( and I never complain for too much sugar). I’ll def try them again asap with no or half the glaze!! I’ll also take up on the suggestions above (add some chips and zest in the lemonies). Thank you!
Thanks for trying the recipe and I’m glad you enjoyed the lemonies and skipping the glaze next time is an easy fix.
made these today, they are very good, but I think next time I will leave the glaze off, as they were very sweet- but love, love LOVE the lemonies!! anything using fresh lemon is ok in my book! thanks for posting this recipe :)
Thanks for trying the recipe and glad you enjoyed the bars! I love the tangy-sweetness of the glaze but you can omit next time if you think you’d like that more.