Patti LaBelle’s Lemon Bars

Patti LaBelle’s Lemon Bars

John and I love a good lemon bar cookie. I found this recipe in People magazine July 17, 2017. I was able to use fresh-picked Arizona lemons the first time I made them. Outstanding! However, store bought lemons will make a great cookie as well.

Ingredients

1⅓ cups all-purpose flour, divided plus more for dusting the pan

¼ cup powdered sugar, plus more for dusting lemon bars

1/8 tsp table salt

½ cup unsalted butter, thinly sliced, at room temp, plus more for greasing pan

1 ½ cups granulated sugar

1 tbsp lemon zest, plus ½ cup fresh juice (from 4 lemons)

4 large eggs

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350. Lightly grease an 8-inch square nonstick baking pan and line it with crisscrossed sheets of aluminum foil or parchment paper so that 2 inches hang over each side to create “handles”. Lightly grease foil and coat with dusting of flour. Turn pan upside down and tap to remove excess flour.
2. Prepare the crust: Whisk together 1 cup flour, powdered sugar and salt in a large bowl. Add butter and stir to combine. Knead until a smooth dough forms. Crumble dough into prepared baking pan and press gently into an even layer. Freeze 15 mins.
3. Bake crust in the center rack of the preheated oven until golden 15 to 20 minutes. Remove from oven and set aside.
4. Prepare the filling: Whisk together remaining 1/3 cup flour, granulated sugar, lemon zest, juice and eggs in a large bowl until smooth. Pour mixture over hot crust. Return to oven and bake until filling is lightly browned 20 to 25 minutes.
5. Run a small sharp knife around the inside edges of the pan to loosen pastry. Cool in the pan on a wire rack for 30 minutes.
6. Lift the foil handles to remove pastry from pan. Place on rack to cool completely about 30 minutes. Cut pastry into 9 equal squares. Peel off and discard foil. Just before serving, sift powdered sugar over bars.

Makes 9 bars