Preheat oven to 350. Line 11x8 at least 1.5 inch tall glass baking dish with parchment paper, allowing the sides to overhang, so that you could later lift your bars out of the pan. (I don't like how these bars turn out in a metal pan, as such I recommend glass or ceramic dish.)
To make the crust, whisk flour, sugar and salt. Grate cold butter with a cheese grater into the flour mixture and mix it with your fingers to resemble coarse crumbs. Do not overwork the dough. Press it into 11x8 baking dish. Bake in preheated oven for about 21-22 minutes until firmer and beginning to turn slightly golden. Remove from the oven.
While the crust is baking, rub lemon peel with sugar to get it to release its fragrant oils; mix in flour. Whisk in eggs, pinch of salt and vanilla, if using. Add lemon juice and gently mix it in. Pour over crust as it comes out of the oven; no need to cool crust first. Bake for an additional 22-24 minutes until the mixture is barely set; you will notice that it will form a slight sugary dry crust. The mixture should still be a bit jiggly (but not overly jiggly) - remember, it will firm up as it cools. I found 22 minutes to be perfect baking time for this step.
Allow to cool for a 30-60 minutes then refrigerate to cool completely and allow the bars to set, at least 2 hours. Lift out of your baking dish and slice with a sharp knife (hold the knife under hot water and wipe dry with a paper towel between slices for clean cuts.) Dust your bars with about 1 TBSP of icing sugar before serving, if desired.
Ingredients
Directions
Preheat oven to 350. Line 11x8 at least 1.5 inch tall glass baking dish with parchment paper, allowing the sides to overhang, so that you could later lift your bars out of the pan. (I don't like how these bars turn out in a metal pan, as such I recommend glass or ceramic dish.)
To make the crust, whisk flour, sugar and salt. Grate cold butter with a cheese grater into the flour mixture and mix it with your fingers to resemble coarse crumbs. Do not overwork the dough. Press it into 11x8 baking dish. Bake in preheated oven for about 21-22 minutes until firmer and beginning to turn slightly golden. Remove from the oven.
While the crust is baking, rub lemon peel with sugar to get it to release its fragrant oils; mix in flour. Whisk in eggs, pinch of salt and vanilla, if using. Add lemon juice and gently mix it in. Pour over crust as it comes out of the oven; no need to cool crust first. Bake for an additional 22-24 minutes until the mixture is barely set; you will notice that it will form a slight sugary dry crust. The mixture should still be a bit jiggly (but not overly jiggly) - remember, it will firm up as it cools. I found 22 minutes to be perfect baking time for this step.
Allow to cool for a 30-60 minutes then refrigerate to cool completely and allow the bars to set, at least 2 hours. Lift out of your baking dish and slice with a sharp knife (hold the knife under hot water and wipe dry with a paper towel between slices for clean cuts.) Dust your bars with about 1 TBSP of icing sugar before serving, if desired.
