Bar Cookies - Lemon Squares

My Mom and I made Lemon Squares when I was in junior high, many years ago. Since then my family has been enjoying them during holidays almost every year. They are an easy to make, rich bar cookie that looks and tastes like an expensive bakery item.

Lemon Squares (also called Lemon Bars) are a delicious treat anytime of the year. Here's the recipe that we have been using since the late 1960s.

Some of my fondest memories are of the time I spent with my Mom in the kitchen. Mother was an excellent cook and her specialty was baking. By the time I was about 10 or 11 years old and was tall enough to work on the counter top, she was teaching me about recipes and how to measure ingredients.

Cookies, especially bar cookies are easy for even children to make. Of course, for safety reasons, Mother didn't allow us to operate the oven until we were in our teens. We still enjoyed baking with Mom. I am thankful that she took the time to teach us those important life skills. And now, decades later, I am still using those and the many other skills that I learned from her.

I have always loved almost anything made with lemons. The lemon squares or bars have just the right amount of sweet and sour to give your taste buds that little zing. I hope you'll enjoy the recipe.

Makes 16 squares.
Hint: It's best to squeeze you own lemons to get fresh juice.

Ingredients

Dough

• 1 cup all purpose flour
• 1/2 cup butter
• 1/4 cup confectioners' sugar

Filling

• 2 eggs
• 1 cup granulated sugar
• 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
• 1/4 teaspoon lemon zest (grated lemon rind), optional

Directions
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.

Dough:
Measure the flour by dipping method or by sifting and place it in a large bowl.
Blend the flour, butter and confectioner's sugar thoroughly.
Press the dough evenly into a square 8x8x2 inch pan.
Bake the dough for 20 minutes.

Filling:
Beat the eggs, granulated sugar, baking powder, salt and lemon juice (and zest if desired) with a whisk until it is smooth.
Pour the filling mixture over the baked crust and bake 20 to 25 minutes more.

Be sure to check it at the 18 to 20 minute mark so you don't bake it too long. The filling should be light brown around the edges. It puffs during baking but flattens when cooled.

Sprinkle the top with a little confectioner's sugar and cut into squares after it has cooled.

There are many recipes for this delicious bar cookie, but all of them are basically the same with very slight variations in the ingredients. The instructions don't vary much either. You mix the dough. Press it into a square pan (or rectangular one for a double recipe). Bake it while you are mixing the filling. Pour the filling over the dough and bake it a little longer.

The basic recipe that my Mom taught me came from the 1960s version of the Betty Crocker Cooky Book. You can find many of your favorite cookies in this wonderful old gem.

My instructions have been written to elaborate more on the procedure so that even the beginning baker can prepare this tantalizing treat.

I have also included a video which shows, step by step, how to make Lemon Squares. The recipe in the video is very similar to the one that I use.