You’ll love these classic lemon bars with a thick, buttery, shortbread crust and a tangy lemon custard filling, garnished with powdered sugar. These make the perfect treat for any gathering!
Classic Lemon Bar Ingredients
Sometimes simple recipes are best! This recipe requires basic baking ingredients and fresh lemons:
For the shortbread crust: butter, powdered sugar, all purpose flour, salt.
For the lemon filling: granulated sugar, lemon zest, flour, salt, eggs, freshly squeezed lemon juice.
For the garnish: powdered sugar.
How to Make Classic Lemon Bars
First, prepare your ingredients by allowing the eggs and butter to come to room temperature on your counter. Zest and juice lemons. Lightly grease baking dish, and preheat oven to 350F, with the rack in the center.
Start by making the shortbread crust. Using an electric mixer, beat butter until very smooth. Next, add the sugar until fully combined and creamy. Add flour and salt, continue mixing until dough forms.
Now, press shortbread mixture into the bottom of baking dish and bake for 18-20 minutes or until the edging is starting to brown. Remove from oven and cool on wire rack.
While the shortbread crust is cooling, prepare the lemon filling. First. Whisk eggs in a large bowl. Next, gradually mix in the sugar, lemon zest, flour and salt to the egg mixture until smooth. Stir in lemon juice. Finally, Pour lemon filling over the shortbread curst and bake for 18-20, or until the filling is set.
Remove from oven and cool on wire rack. Once cooled to room temperature, refrigerate the bars until firm, about 1-2 hours. Once the bars are set, cut lemon bars into squares and garnish with powdered sugar.
Classic Lemon Bars
Classic lemon bars with a thick, buttery, shortbread crust and a tangy lemon custard filling, garnished with powdered sugar. These make the perfect treat for any gathering!
Ingredients
Shortbread Crust
- 1 cup butter at room temperature
- 1/2 cup powdered sugar
- 2 cups all purpose flour
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
Lemon Filling
- 1 cup granulated sugar
- 1 tablespoon grated lemon zest
- 2 tablespoons all purpose flour
- 1/8 teaspoon salt
- 2 eggs at room temperature
- 1/3 cup freshly squeezed lemon juice about 2-3 lemons
Garnish
- powdered sugar
Instructions
Shortbread Crust
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Gather ingredients. Preheat the oven to 350F with the oven rack in the center.
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In electric mixer, beat butter until smooth. Add sugar until well combined. Add flour and salt and continue to combine until dough forms.
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Press shortbread mixture into the bottom of baking dish and bake for 18-20 minutes or until the edging is starting to brown.
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Remove from oven and cool on wire rack.
Lemon Filling
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Whisk eggs in a large bowl.
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Gradually mix in the sugar, lemon zest, flour and salt to the egg mixture until smooth. Mix in lemon juice.
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Pour lemon filling over the shortbread curst and bake for 18-20, or until the filling is set. Remove from oven and cool on wire rack. Once cooled to room temperature, refrigerate the bars until firm, about 1-2 hours.
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Cut lemon bars into squares and garnish with powdered sugar.
Recipe Video
Recipe Notes
Serving size is based on one square, when the lemon bars are divided into 16 squares.
Any nutritional information on RainbowDelicious.com should only be used as a general guideline. This information is provided as a courtesy and there is no guarantee that the information will be completely accurate. The nutritional labels are a product of online calculators such as (but not limited to) Verywellfit.com  Although RainbowDelicious.com attempts to provide accurate nutritional information, these figures should be considered only as estimates. Varying factors such as product types or brands purchased, natural fluctuations in fresh produce, and the way ingredients are processed change the effective nutritional information in any given recipe.
How Long Do Lemon Bars Last in the Fridge?
Lemon bars last about 1 week in the fridge, but up to 4 months in the freezer. Place pre-cut lemon bar squares onto a baking sheet to freeze, and then store in an air-tight container.
Do Lemon Bars Need to Be Refrigerated
Lemon bar filling is a custard, so it is best if you can keep your lemon bars refrigerated for freshness. It’s fine to leave them out on a platter at a party for a few hours, but besides that I’d recommend storing in the refrigerator.
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If you make these classic lemon bars please share on instagram using hashtag #rainbowdelicious & and tag me at @rainbowdelicious , I’d love to see what you are up to in your kitchen!
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Lemon bars are perhaps my all time favorite treat! These are sooo lemony and I adore the shortbread crust! All of my favorite things together in one yummy treat!
Thanks Beth!
I just love a good lemon bar! These look perfect. 🙂
Thanks Carrie!
Such a great lemon bar recipe! Perfect for any time of the year.
Thank you Pina!
I love lemon bars with a shortbread crust and a thick custard. These bars are delicoiusly tart and tangy and perfectly sweet.
Thanks Jere!
Lemon bars are among the top of my guilty pleasures, and your version is so yummy. I can eat the whole batch myself if I’m not careful. 😉
Thanks Anita! I could eat a whole batch too!
I love your cute square dish!!!
A very thoughtful friend got it for me 😉 Thanks Brookie!
I love lemon desserts and this looks so good! Perfect balance between sweet and tangy, and soft shortbread, mmm!
Thanks, Stine!
I love a good lemon bar, one where the custard is nice and thick. We have lemon trees so I will be using this recipe with my fresh lemons.
Fresh lemons are the best in this recipe. Thanks, Jere!
I love, love, love lemon bars and these were so deliciously tart. I really enjoyed seeing how much my family loved them too.
Yay! I’m so glad you’re family enjoyed these lemon bars, Marta!
I made these for dessert yesterday and my wife loved them!!
So glad to hear this, thanks Chef!
This really is a gorgeous recipe! I love how the lemon flavor came out too… just enough without being overwhelming. Will make again soon!
Thanks so much, Julie!
So delicious! I made these for a recent mother and daughter tea, everyone loved them. Thank you.
Yum! These look so good. Cant wait to try your recipe. Thanks for sharing.
There’s just something about lemon bars that just makes me want to keep snacking on them, and this recipe is just mouthwatering.
Both lemony and butter these classic lemon bars are a delicious explosion of flavors for sure! YUM!
My family loves lemon bars. These just look fantastic. One of the best treat for any gathering. I will try your version soon.
Thank you for sharing this recipe! What size should the baking dish be?
Hi Lisa, an 8 X 8 or 9 X 9 baking dish works for this recipe.
Is cooling the crust a must prior to pouring the filling and popping it back in the oven?
It should be fine even if the crust isn’t cooled.