Classic Lemon Squares

This lemon square recipe is from my friend Crystal's blog, Inspirational Ingredients, and let me tell you they are AWESOME! In my opinion, it's the perfect blend of texture and taste! So while it may seem a little lame to post a recipe from another friend's blog, I just couldn't resist! They are just too good to not pass on! And in case you're interested Crystal has lots of other amazing recipes on her blog too! So head on over and check her out!

Note: I was actually out of lemons and lemon juice so I used some key lime juice I still had from our trip to the Keys. I then topped the bars with toasted coconut right after they came out of the oven. The were delicious but I still think nothing can replace a classic lemon square! If you'd like to try them, however, just substitute the lemon juice for key lime and top with desired amount of toasted coconut and powdered sugar immediately after the bars come out of the oven. Refrigerate and slice according to the recipe's directions.

INGREDIENTS:

For the Crust:
1 1/2 sticks Butter
2 cups all-purpose Flour
1/4 cup packed Brown Sugar
1/4 cup Confectioners’ Sugar
1/4 tsp. Salt

For the Filling:
4 Large Eggs Plus 2 eggs yolks
2 cups Granulated Sugar
1/3 cup all-purpose Flour
1 tsp Lemon Zest
1 cup Lemon Juice

DIRECTIONS:

Pre-heat Oven to 350 degrees. Grease a 9×13 in pan with vegetable oil, Next line pan with aluminum foil and grease with vegetable oil as well.

First Make the Crust: Combine Butter, Flour, Sugars and Salt until incorporated, the recipe uses a food processor but I didn’t want to get it out so I used my mixer, it think either will work fine. Next Press mixture evenly into bottom and about 1/2 inch up the sides of the pan. Bake until golden brown about 25 minutes.

While the crust is baking make the filling: Whisk the Whole Eggs and Yolks, Sugar and Flour together until smooth. Whisk in lemon zest and juice.

When Crust is ready, remove from oven and pour filling over hot crust. Reduce oven heat to 300 degrees. Return squares to oven for 35-40 minutes or until “just set." (The top of mine looked very dry and powdery when it was finished baking).

Lastly, let the bars cool on a rack then refrigerate until firm, at least 2 hours. Lift out of the pan using the foil and slice, dust with confectioners’ sugar before serving.

Source: Recipe Adapted from Food Network Magazine March 2010 issue