Makes 15 bars
YouTube instructional video is at the bottom.
What you’ll need
All-purpose flour
Sugar
Brown sugar
Salt
Unsalted butter (Cold)
Butter flavored Vegetable shortening (Cold)
3 Large lemons (Room temp)
Large eggs (Room temp)
Cream cheese (Room temp)
Sweetened condensed milk
Vanilla extract
Lemon extract
Lemon yellow gel paste food coloring
Tools you’ll need
13 by 9-inch baking pan
Hand or stand mixer
Food processor
Parchment paper
Rolling pin
Citrus zester
Mesh strainer
Citrus juicer
Sturdy spoon
Whisk
Preparation of ingredients
Baking pan
Step 1- Spread 1 or 2 tablespoons vegetable shortening onto the bottom and sides of your baking pan. Add parchment paper into baking pan. To get the parchment paper to fit, cut 4 slits into all 4 corners of the parchment paper. Picture demonstration is below. Once done set pan aside.
Bottom crust
Step 2- Add 1 cup all-purpose flour, 2 tablespoons sugar, 1/8 teaspoon salt, 3 tablespoons unsalted butter (cold and cubed). and 3 tablespoons butter flavored vegetable shortening (cold and cubed). Pulse and 15 to 20 times or until the butter and shortening are cut into the flour. Once done transfer mixture into a large bowl.
Important Note- Half of a tablespoon is 1 teaspoon plus 1/2 of a teaspoon.
Step 3- Add 3 1/2 tablespoons of cold water and stir with a sturdy spoon until mixture starts to come together. Once done form into a dough using your hands.
Step 4- Lightly flour surface of table and add dough on top of table. Press dough down using your hands forming a flat square. Lightly sprinkle flour on top of the dough and roll dough into a 11 by 15-inch rectangle. Dough should be 2 inches wider than your 13 by 9-inch baking pan.
Step 5- Place baking pan on top of rolled dough and cut around the edge of the baking pan using a knife to cut out a square. Remove the excessive dough from the edges which should be cut from the square itself. Place the rolling pin onto the edge of the dough and roll the dough onto the rolling pin. As you are rolling the dough onto the rolling pin, sprinkle flour onto the dough. This will prevent the dough from sticking onto itself.
Step 6- Carefully unroll dough onto the inside of your baking pan lined with the parchment paper inside. Gently press and stretch dough using your hands until the edge of the dough reaches the edges of the inside of your baking pan. Once done take a fork and poke holes into the dough. This will prevent the crust from bubbling up during the baking process. Once done place baking pan into freezer until you prepare the filling and the crumb topping.
Lemons
Step 7- Rinse lemons off with cold water. Once done, zest all lemons using the citrus zester. Cut each lemon in half and juice each lemon half with the citrus juicer. Add the lemon juice from the citrus juicer into a mesh strainer with a measuring cup underneath it. You should have 2/3 cup freshly squeezed lemon juice.
Lemon crumb topping
Important note- In the recipe video on YouTube, you did see me add the cold water, lemon juice, zest and flavoring into a separate large bowl and stir before I added the mixture back into the food processor. Disregard that and continue adding the rest of the ingredients into the food processor as described in the step below.
Step 8- Add 1 cup all-purpose flour, 2 tablespoons sugar, 1 or 2 tablespoons brown sugar, 1/8 teaspoon salt, 3 tablespoons unsalted butter (Cold and cubed), and 3 tablespoons butter flavored vegetable shortening (Cold and cubed) into a food processor. Pulse 15 or 20 times or until the butter and shortening is cut into the flour. From there add 1 tablespoon cold water, 2 teaspoons freshly squeezed lemon juice, 1/2 teaspoon lemon extract, 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract, and 1 or 2 tablespoons lemon zest. Pulse 10 to 15 times or until the mixture resembles coarse crumbs and it should start to come together as well. Once done, add into a medium-sized bowl and cover with lid. Place into fridge until it’s ready to be added onto the top of the lemon filling.
Lemon filling
Step 9- Add two 8 ounces packages cream cheese (Room temp) and 4 large eggs (Room temp) into mixing bowl. Mix on the lowest setting on your mixer for 1 minute. Scrape down sides of bowl.
Step 10- Add 1 1/2 cups sugar, and 1/4 teaspoon salt. Stir carefully with spatula or whisk until combined. Next add 1 cup sweetened condensed milk, 2/3 cup freshly squeezed lemon juice, 1/2 cup lemon zest, 3 tablespoons melted unsalted butter, 1 teaspoon lemon extract, 1 teaspoon vanilla extract, 1/8 teaspoon lemon yellow gel paste or liquid food coloring, and 1/4 cup all-purpose flour. Stir well with whisk until combined. Scrape down sides of bowl and set aside.
Baking the Lemon bars
Preheat oven to 375 degrees.
Step 11- Pour lemon filling into baking pan lined with parchment paper and the bottom crust. Shake pan slightly to make batter more even. Generously sprinkle (Lemon crumb topping) on top of the lemon filling. The topping will not sink during the baking process. Once done place into a preheated 375-degree oven on the middle rack and bake for 30 to 35 minutes.
Step 12- Remove lemon bars from oven. Let cool completely. This can take 3 to 4 hours. Place a chopping board on top of the baking pan and flip it over. The bars will land upside down onto the chopping board. Remove parchment paper and add a serving pad on to the top of the bottom crust and flip the lemon bars back over onto the opposite side. Cut 15 squares using a large knife. Demonstration picture is below to help. Once the bars have been cut, place into the fridge for 4 to 6 hours or overnight before serving. The bars are best served cold the next day after baking so that way the flavors can settle and increase overnight.
YouTube instructional video
