The BEST Lemon Bars 🍋👏 have BIG lemon flavor with the perfect balance of sweet and tart in every bite. They have a buttery shortbread crust topped with a smooth, bright lemon filling that sets up beautifully. These classic bars are EASY to make and perfect for spring and summer gatherings, holidays, potlucks, or anytime a lemon craving hits!
Easy Lemon Bars Recipe
- I’m pretty picky about my lemon bars. The filling, the crust, and the sweet-tart balance all has to be just right. I’m like Goldilocks with her porridge.
- These classic lemon bars are Goldilocks approved.
- Before making these, I researched dozens of recipes, studying each meticulously, but nothing sounded exactly perfect. I referenced one of my favorite cookbooks, The New Best Recipe
,but when I saw seven eggs, I slammed the book shut immediately.
Unless you’re feeding a football team, any one singular dessert does not need seven eggs, period. I also checked out another trusty resource, The King Arthur Flour Baker’s Companion, and many others. But in the end, I came up with my own.
- These classic lemon bars consist of an easy shortbread crust, topped with an intensely lemony filling. The tartness and sweetness are well-balanced. You don’t even have to lug out your mixer to make them.
- Just as cornstarch helps cookies stay soft and tender, it does the same for the crust of these homemade lemon bars. Shortbread crusts tend to become too dry, hard, or tasteless, and remind me of dog biscuits, which is why I never make biscotti. I’m sorry for anyone who likes it but it’s so unsatisfying for me because I can’t get past that dry, hard-yet-crumbly dough. The cornstarch keeps this crust just a bit softer than some, preventing the cardboard phenomenon.
- Another notable difference in this classic lemon bar recipe is that the ratio of lemon juice ratio is much, much higher than in most recipes. For an 8-inch square pan, most call for two tablespoons whereas mine uses eight (one-half cup); four times the amount. You’d think this would make you pucker up up for days but really, it doesn’t.
- The bars are robustly lemon-flavored, but not ridiculous, and they’re how I think a lemon bar should be. If I wanted a blondie with a hint of lemon, I’d use two tablespoons of lemon juice, but I wanted a good old-fashioned lemon bar, full of zing and tang. But they’re also sweet enough to be considered dessert, not torture.
- The overall depth of lemon flavor is boosted from two teaspoons of lemon zest. Most recipes this size use one teaspoon, but I doubled it and used two. I also added a tiny bit of vanilla extract, something that isn’t traditional in lemon bars, but I love vanilla.
- I am so pleased with these because the flavor is robustly lemony and tart, but they’re not sour, pungent, bitter, or overwhelming. They’re just sweet enough, but not too much. The sprinkling of confectioners’ sugar gives them a tiny bit of additional sweetness and gives them that classic lemon bar appearance.
- The filling itself is dense but light, almost like a lemon custard with a touch of creaminess. It’s smooth and firm, without being rubbery. The crust is buttery, just crisp enough, but retains some softness, flakiness, and tenderness. It’s a ever-so-slightly sweetened and thick enough to stand up to the layer of lemon filling and not be overwhelmed by it. I don’t like it when shortbread crusts are paper thin and prefer them on the thicker side. Not too thick, not too thin. Hello, Goldilocks.
- My almost six-year old is a lemon fanatic (heads up this is a repost from 2013 and she’s now 13!). She’ll reach into a water glass with a lemon, fish it out, and eat it. She loved these easy lemon bars because anything lemon-flavored is a hit with her.
- I wouldn’t call them The Best Lemon Bars if I didn’t really think they were.
Ingredients in Lemon Bar
- Unsalted butter, all-purpose flour, confectioners’ sugar, cornstarch, and salt: These make the buttery shortbread crust. Cornstarch helps keep the crust tender, while confectioners’ sugar gives it a delicate texture.
- Eggs, granulated sugar, half and half, lemon juice, lemon zest, Vanilla extract, and lemon extract: These create the smooth lemon filling with big, bright lemon flavor. Use both fresh lemon juice and zest for the best flavor, and lemon extract gives the bars an extra pop without making them too tart.
Note: Scroll down to the recipe card section of the post for the ingredients with amounts included and for more complete directions.
How to Make Lemon Bars
- Make the crust by combining the flour, confectioners’ sugar, cornstarch, and very soft butter until a crumbly mixture forms.
- Press the crumbs into an 8-inch pan, prick the crust with a fork, and bake just until it firms up without turning golden.
- While the crust bakes, whisk together the eggs, sugar, lemon juice, cream, and extracts to make the lemon filling.
- Pour the filling over the warm crust and bake until the center is just set but not overbaked.
- Cool the bars at room temperature, then chill before slicing and dusting with confectioners’ sugar.
The Best Lemon Bars
Equipment
Ingredients
For the Crust
- ½ cup unsalted butter, 1 stick, very soft
- 1 cup all-purpose flour
- ¼ heaping cup confectioners’ sugar
- 1 tablespoon cornstarch
- pinch salt, optional and to taste
For the Filling
- 2 large eggs
- 1 cup granulated sugar
- ½ cup lemon juice, or to taste (about 2 juicy medium lemons; see note below)
- 2 tablespoons half-and-half, whole milk or cream are okay
- ½ teaspoon vanilla extract, optional and to taste
- ½ teaspoon lemon extract, optional and to taste
- 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
- 2 teaspoons lemon zest loosely packed, or to taste (see note below)
- confectioners’ sugar, for dusting
Instructions
For the Crust:
- Preheat oven to 350F. Line an 8-by-8-inch pan with aluminum foil, spray with cooking spray; set aside.
- In a large bowl, combine all crust ingredients and cut the butter into the dry ingredients with a pasty cutter or just stir and mash with a spoon until a sandy, crumbly mixture forms. I do it by hand because it’s easy, fast, and I don’t have to wash out my food processor; but use one if you prefer.
- Transfer crumbly mixture to prepared pan and using your fingertips, press crumbs down to form an even flat layer of crust.
- Prick crust with a fork haphazardly in a dozen places so air and steam can escape while it bakes. If air bubbles form while baking, prick them down and return pan to oven.
- Bake for 12 to 15 minutes, or until crust has just barely set. It should not be golden or browned at all, it should still be white. You just want it to stick together and it doesn’t need to be cooked through fully since pan is going back in the oven to bake filling.
- While crust bakes, make the filling.
For the Filling:
- In a large bowl, combine eggs, sugar, lemon juice (start with ¼ cup and increase to taste; I find that using less than ½ cup isn’t intense enough, but add to taste), half-and-half, optional vanilla (I used it even though it’s not traditional), optional lemon extract (I don’t find it necessary and omitted it), and whisk until smooth.
- Add the flour and whisk until lumps are gone.
- Add lemon zest (add to taste, starting with 1 teaspoon but I prefer 2 teaspoons) and whisk to combine.
- Pour mixture over crust. Bake for 15 to 20 minutes (I baked for 18), or until the top has just set and isn’t jiggly in center. Some movement and looseness is normal and desired, you just don’t want it liquid-like or runny; slicing into some looseness is fine, liquid is not. Top will be yellow and lemon-colored, but not browned.
- Allow bars to cool at room temperature for at least 1 hour.
- Cover pan and refrigerate for at least three hours, or overnight, before slicing and serving.
- Optionally, dust with confectioners’ sugar before serving.
Notes
- Store extra bars in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 5 days.
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
©averiecooks.com. Content and photographs are copyright protected. Sharing of this recipe is both encouraged and appreciated. Copying and/or pasting full recipes to any social media is strictly prohibited.
More Lemon Desserts:
Strawberry Lemonade Bars — Imagine crossing lemon bars with a strawberry pie. These easy bars taste like strawberry lemonade! Sooo good!
Lemon Buttermilk Cake with Lemon Glaze — An easy buttermilk cake with big lemon flavor!! Soft, fluffy, and foolproof if you like puckering up!!
The Best Lemon Loaf (Better-Than-Starbucks Copycat) — It took years, but I finally recreated it!! Easy, no mixer, no cake mix, dangerously good, and SPOT ON!! You’re going to love this lemon pound cake recipe!
Lemon Lemonies — Like lemon brownies, but made with lemon and white chocolate! Dense, chewy, not cakey and packed with big, bold lemon flavor!
Lemon Blueberry Bundt Cake with Lemon Glaze — Almost more berries than cake in this soft, fluffy lemon blueberry bundt cake! The lemon glaze is plate-licking delish!!
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!!
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 January 16, 2013 and republished June 5, 2020 with updated text.
Pinned and printed out! We used up our lemon supply over the holidays, but I noticed yesterday we have a new supply of ripe fruit on the tree. I hope to make (and eat) these this afternoon!
Keep me posted!
I’ve actually never made or eaten a lemon bar! These make me rethink that fact. I’m so obsessed with citrus lately — baking with it, snacking on it, etc.
I agree with you on biscotti — just eat a real cookie! Anytime I’ve ever had biscotti I have to dunk it in coffee to moisten it back up. And then of course it tastes like coffee instead of X. Oh, well, to each his/her own. :)
Ive been seeing all your citrus cookies from my Reader. I want to take a nibble of all of them! You’d love the lemon bars since you love citrus cookies!
And yes re the biscotti. It tastes like coffee. And then you have weird white crumbly stuff in your coffee :( Not a fan. Haha!
This is a very unique recipe for lemon bars! My mom always used powdered sugar in the crust and it makes such a wonderful difference in texture. I have never seen half and half and vanilla added to the filling but I am SO wanting to try this now. Sounds wonderful! Thanks so much for stopping by my site today :)
It adds just a tiny bit of creaminess and as a nice bonus, allows the egg requirement to go down a bit. Some bars are just jam packed! I almost didn’t add vanilla but there is almost no dessert on earth that I could think of that a bit of vanilla didn’t enhance…but that’s me. I love my vanilla! Your bars looked amazing. I love how thick the crust was, not skimpy :) And the filling, mmm!
I adore lemons bars. I’ll have to give your recipe a try.
Can’t wait to try these, my husband loves lemon bars, but I just haven’t found a recipe I like. Love the styling on your first photo of this post and LOVE that plate, so pretty. :-)
Thanks, Sarah! It was a rare one-item-only at Target about 4 years ago. They had that ONE plate. I bought it. And have never seen anything so cute there since (or that looks like an Anthro knockoff!)
Hello, Goldilocks! I love lemon bars anytime of year. They’re so refreshing and zingy, and these made-from-scratch bars you’ve whipped up look positively heavenly!
those are just gorgeous girl!
so pretty and that yellow is exactly like sunshine!
oh i do love lemon bars also and your looks like a winner. it is as you say very hard to find a good one. and who does need 7 eggs for a recipe that goes in a small pan???? however, i am not a big fan of shortbread crust or the whole stick of butter that goes in them and your recipe actually use less than many others i have seen. any thoughts on a different crust? perhaps an oatmeal one or one made with unsweetened applesauce to replace some of the butter? or maybe even coconut oil? now that might combine well with the lemon ….
Well I gave them the tile THE BEST lemon bars for a reason. I truly believe they are the best I’ve ever had and wouldn’t change a thing. If you read my descriptions of this crust based on the typical shortbread crust, you’ll know why I like this one and many others fall short. So I personally wouldn’t change a thing and I really don’t think applesauce can replace butter in this crust. You could do an oatmeal crust but that’s not the traditional lemon bar I was looking for but have fun playing around!
I love lemon things. My MIL makes a KILLER lemon curd.
Do you bake everyday, or do you bake up a bunch at once?
Hi, Averie! I am so so so excited about these! I love lemon bars. LOVE. I’m with you though… no one single dessert recipe should ever ever include 7 eggs. That’s bananas. Thanks!
lemon bars are one of my favorite desserts! I’m surprised the Best New Recipe version was so heavy. That’s one of my favorite cookbooks as well.
Every once in awhile they take something that really shouldn’t be complicated, and they do kind of…complicate it. I totally trust that the results were/are worth it, but sometimes based on health or time-investment, I have to bypass their recipes. I wish I could have just a bite of theirs though to see what it tastes like!
P.S. Are there any alternative versions of the lemon bars? love to free-style a recipe…
Google for what you’re looking for – maybe something will hit you!
Averie, glad to reconnect in the new year, after 3 weeks of away-of-it-all vacation.
Love these bars! Magnificient pictures.
Will make them this weekend:-) with French ingredients, and 100% organic:-)
Will report on the result.
All the best from Europe!!
I’m very particular about my lemon bars too. I tried a condensed milk version one and it was god-awful.
Your version looks amazing though. It’s definitely a must-try in my book!
I saw that version and versions of that version…and I steered clear. Good thing based on your reaction, too!
Awesome! My grandmother used to make these all the time and no one in my family knows the recipe because she never wrote anything down. I’m going to totally blow them away at the next dinner! Thank you!
Well please keep me posted if you try them!
are you like in my head? my favorite things to eat…. your prior post – the one hour pretzels and i said i love me some soft pretzels…now lemon bars…lemon bars are by far my favorite desert. i barely ever make since i am always disappointed…but now that YOU created your own. and you said they are the bEST this is it! i know it!!!!
I am so picky when it comes to them because they can be a real disappointment and I promise, these are worth it and they come together easily!