Lemon Bars (Beginner Friendly)

Oh how I’ve dreamt of making lemon bars for years but always found them too intimidating. It’s a fairly simple recipe to be honest. I finally gave it a try and it took all of 15 minutes to prepare and pop into the oven.

Specifically because of how much this recipe used to intimidate me, I wanted to create something that doesn’t terrify a first-time baker or a beginner in the kitchen. Also this recipe can easily be doubled or tripled if you want to prepare a larger batch.

If you are a fan of lemon or sour desserts, then this one is definitely for you. Besides, with summer coming just around the corner, lemon is the perfect ingredient to keep as the star of the show in all your recipes.

What Are Lemon Bars?

Lemon bars are a delectable baked dessert comprising of two parts:

Shortbread Crust: The crust is made from flour, butter and sugar. Think of it as a cheesecake crust, but with flour instead of crushed biscuits.
Lemon Filling: This filling is very similar to a custard. It uses eggs, sugar, lemon zest, lemon juice, and the tiniest bit of flour. The flour helps the filling have a firmer consistency than a custard, but don’t worry it’s just a tiny bit and won’t leave your bars tasting too floury.

ALSO TRY THESE LEMON WHITE CHOCOLATE PUDDING CUPS!

What’s Incredible About This Lemon Bars Recipe?

To put it very simply, it’s ridiculously easy. It’s literally fail-safe. You cannot go wrong with this one. Coming from someone who was very scared that the lemon filling would turn out too eggy or too hard or too runny, I nailed this on the very first try.

It is divided into two parts, the crust and the filling. You need all of one bowl to prepare this recipe so it’s also far easier on the cleanup. For the crust, you will only need flour, butter and sugar. Mix them togetehr well until your crust has the consistency of damp sand. After prepping the crust, line your baking pan with parchment paper, and pat in your crust firmly.

It’s important to make sure your crust is patted down firmly because if there are any gaps, then your filling will leak into the crust instead of sitting on the top.

Now you can use the same bowl to prepare your filling. I would recommend that you begin by adding your sugar and then zest your lemon right into the sugar. Before adding any more ingredients, mix your zest and lemon together well.

This helps release the aromatic lemon oils within the zest and enhances the flavor immensely. Honestly, I never really got the hype of massaging the zest into the sugar made until I tried it and believe me, it does make a significant difference. Now you’ll add in the rest of the filling ingredients, whisk together well, and pour over your crust.

YOU MIGHT LIKE THESE LEMON POPPYSEED MUFFINS!

Do I Need To Pre-Bake The Crust?

A lot of people prefer to pre-bake the crust before adding the lemon filling. However, I am not a huge fan of prebaking the crust. And I’ll tell you why.

I feel like prebaking the crust keeps the crust and filling separate. It is not seamlessly blended into one another in the final product.
Prebaking the crust gives you more of a crumble than if you choose not to. Personally, I love the chew that comes with not prebaking the crust.

Let’s get right into this recipe so you can prep your batch right away!