Lemon Bars are one of my favorite things to get in coffee shops and at dessert bars. As you know, I just love the lemon. A nice lemon bar is a happy blend of shortbread cookie and a citrus pop of flavor. The powdered sugar topping is like a touch of sweet snow and makes it very elegant...ahhh, a good dessert can make the world a little happier. My dad has a lemon tree so I wanted to use some in this dessert.I tried Double Lemon Bars from epicurious.com. The reader comments suggested using a 9x9 pan instead of the 13 x 9 pan for thicker cookies. Here I'm cutting in the butter with my new Sur La Table pastry cutter (yes, this hobby is getting expensive but worth it! :)
And here is the resulting pastry crust that I pressed into the pan. On top, I mixed together a bunch of lemon juice, lemon zest, eggs and sugar.
The result? They definitely aren't my favorite. People at work seem to like them and thought they were very lemony. But when I sifted the powder sugar on top of the square, all of it melted into the lemon topping within minutes! And that just ain't the elegant I was looking to get!Next up - I'm going to try Cook's Illustrated version of the lemon bar with a lemon curd topping.
P.S. So tired. Went back to the gym after a very long 2 week hiatus. Step aerobics is an awesome way to burn off lemon bars, I think.
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3 comments:
Don't be too hard on yourself about the lemon bars, the lemoniness was very nice. Out of curiosity, were they anything other than cold when you powdered them? If so, that is why your sugar melted; they have to be cold to room temp for the sugar not to melt into them.
Ah, I'm glad you liked them Jessica. I put the powder sugar on in the morning, after removing them from the refrig about an hour before powdering. They should have been cold or at least cool. Hum...definitely going to try another recipe to see if I can get "powder sugar stickage." :)
Yeah, cold is key; so as they warm up, even just from being out, the powdered sugar will dissolve into the bars. That of course does not make them any less tasty, though perhaps sweeter if you re-apply. : )
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