Lemon Bars.

Assalamu alaikum wa rahmatullahi wa barakatuhu!

In the Name of Allah, Most Gracious, Most Merciful

We're bringing summer back today!
Because let's face it, this British weather isn't going to do it for us.
I was woken early this morning by the sound of heavy rain and I heard that there's been flooding in parts of the country. It's been grey, miserable and very wet here today so we did what any sensible person would do. We stayed in and baked. I had three little helpers and I'll be sharing the results very soon.


So, on to lemon bars. Lemon bars were one of those recipes that I always kept coming across and vowed to bake as soon as possible. My mother is a huge fan of anything lemon and so these bars were right up her street.
What is a lemon bar you ask? It's a buttery shortbread base which is baked and then topped with a zesty lemon curd filling. The whole thing is baked again until just set, left to cool, doused in icing sugar and sliced into bars.

These bars are full of lemon flavour since I put in both the zest and juice. And, would you look at that vibrant yellow colour? There's no food colouring here - it's all natural. I hope you give lemon bars a go this weekend. They're simple to make and make a change from all those cookies and rainbows.

Lemon Desserts, previously: lemon curd whipped cream, lemon drizzle squares, lemon swiss roll, lemon and blueberry cupcakes. 

A Simple List of Ingredients:

1. Unsalted Butter

2. Caster Sugar

3. Plain Flour

4. Salt

5. Lemons

6. Eggs

7. Icing Sugar

Bismillah, let's begin!

First, to make the shortbread base. Gather together your ingredients - plain flour, caster sugar, salt and unsalted butter.

Also, get the oven on to 180C / Gas Mark 4.

Prepare your baking dish. I used a square one measuring 9 inch x 9 inch.

Grease and line it with baking paper. Make sure you do this because trying to get the bars out without baking paper is very hard indeed. Set aside until needed.

To make the base, I used a stand mixer with the paddle attachment but you could just as easily do this by hand or with an electric mixer.

First ingredient - unsalted butter.

Into the bowl, place 113 grams Unsalted Butter, at room temperature.

Next, caster sugar. You could also use granulated sugar if it's all you have.

Throw in 113 grams Caster Sugar.

Beat the butter and sugar together until light and fluffy.

Next, take plain flour.

Measure out 130 grams Plain Flour.

Stir in a pinch of Salt.

Then, add it to the butter mix.

Mix until just combined.

Press a little dough between your fingers and it should hold together.

Bring the dough together into a ball either in the bowl or on the counter.

Place it into the baking dish.

And, press it in evenly.

Then, place the dish into the fridge to chill for 20 minutes.

Once chilled, it's time to bake!

Bake at 180C / Gas Mark 4 for 20 minutes until very lightly browned.

Set it aside to cool slightly whilst you whisk up the filling.

Gather together the ingredients --> lemons, eggs, plain flour and caster sugar.


Nothing fancy here - just a bowl and a whisk.


Since these are lemon bars, I guess lemons are in order. Grab 2 Lemons.

First, we're going to zest them. I used this.

Into the bowl, place the zest of 2 Lemons.

We also need 80ml Freshly Squeezed Lemon Juice. So, slice the lemons in half.


And, get squeezing. I used this!

You'll need 80ml lemon juice in all. Feel free to top the juice up with bottled lemon juice if the fresh isn't enough.

Pour the lemon juice into the bowl.

Look at that bright yellow! It'll be sure to chase away those grey rainy day blues.


Next ingredient? Caster sugar.

Add in 185 grams Caster Sugar.


Then, take 3 large Eggs, at room temperature.

Add the eggs into the bowl.


Finally, plain flour.

Add in 45 grams Plain Flour.

And, we're done!

All that's left to do now is give everything a good whisk.

Pour the mixture over the shortbread.

Bake at 180C / Gas Mark 4 for 20-25 minutes until just set.

Like this! Cool completely before slicing.

I left them overnight and as you can see, some of us couldn't wait to dig in.

To serve, take Icing Sugar.

Dust the lemon bars liberally with icing sugar.

Pull the bars out of the dish.

And, slice into bars!

The best way to serve these is by placing them in muffin cases.

With these lemon bars, all I can say is that they won't last long.

Full Written Recipe:

Lemon Bars.

Prep Time: About 40 minutes ß including chilling time.

Bake Time: About 45 minutes.

Serves: Slices into 12 squares.

Ingredients

For the Shortbread Base

113 grams Unsalted Butter, at room temperature

113 grams Caster Sugar

130 grams Plain Flour

Pinch of Salt

For the Lemon Filling

Zest of 2 Lemons

80ml Freshly Squeezed Lemon Juice

185 grams Caster Sugar

3 large Eggs, at room temperature

45 grams Plain Flour

To Serve

Icing Sugar, as needed

Method

Pre-heat the oven to 180C / Gas Mark 4. Grease and line a square baking dish measuring 9 inch x 9 inch.

To make the shortbread base, place the butter and sugar into a bowl. Beat together until light and fluffy.

Mix the flour and salt together. Add it to the butter mixture and mix until just combined.

Press a little of the mixture with your fingers and it should form a dough.

Bring the dough together into a ball either in the bowl or on the counter. Then, press the dough into the baking dish. Place in the fridge to chill for 20 minutes.

Then, bake at 180C / Gas Mark 4 for 20 minutes until very lightly browned. Let it cool slightly whilst you make the filling.

To make the lemon filling, take a mixing bowl. Put in the lemon zest, lemon juice, sugar, eggs and flour. Give it a good whisk.

Pour over the shortbread base. Bake for 20-25 minutes at 180C / Gas Mark 4 until the filling is set.

Cool completely and dust very well with icing sugar. Slice into bars and serve!

{Adapted from Smitten Kitchen}

This Time One Year Ago:

Sticky Chicken and Veggie Bake

This Time Two Years Ago:

Chicken Donner Kebab

Keep me in your duas please, and enjoy your lemon bars, 

Wasalaam!