These lemon bars are so great and easy to make.  When I make them at my house they are gone in the same day!  I had to adjust the crust a little from my original recipe because the crust was coming out way too hard and dry –possibly because I live at a higher altitude now and the climate is a bit drier here than in Texas.  The changes I made were to add an additional tablespoon of butter (from 4 to 5) and add 2 tablespoons of milk.  You can always take these away if you want the crust to be a little harder and dry.
Ingredients:
  • 1 cup all-purpose flour
  • 1/4 cup confectioners’ sugar
  • 5 tablespoons butter
  • 1 cup white granulated sugar
  • 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
  • 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
  • 2 tablespoons milk
  • 2 eggs
  • 4 tablespoons lemon juice
  • 1 tablespoon lemon zest
  • 1/3 cup confectioners’ sugar for tops of bars
Directions:
1.  Preheat oven to 350 degrees F
2.  Bottom Layer: Mix one cup of flour, 1/4 cup confectioners sugar.  Melt the butter in a separate container and stir into the flour mixture.  Add 2 tablespoons of milk stir well.  You should have a stiff dough.
3.  Press dough into an 8×8 baking dish.  Make sure it is flat and evenly distributed throughout the pan.  Bake for 20 minutes.
4.  While baking the crust, make the top layer.  Mix 1 cup granulated white sugar, 2 tablespoons flour and the baking powder.
5.  Beat the eggs in a separate container and add to flour/sugar mixture.  Add lemon juice and zest mix well.
6.  Once bottom layer is complete, pour lemon curd over the bottom layer and bake for an additional 25 minutes.
7.  Let cool for about 15 minutes and cut while warm.  Sprinkle with confectioners sugar and serve.
* tip #1 — spray the 8×8 pan with non stick spray before pressing crust dough in pan; this helps when taking them out after they have cooled.  Before placing lemon curd on crust, spray the sides of the pan with non stick spray as well.
* tip #2 — depending on your oven, you may want to watch the crust while baking and not over bake it because it is so thin it can burn so you may only need to cook the crust for 15 minutes.
*tip #3 — if you don’t like your bars tart, you can use 3 tablespoons of lemon juice instead of 4.

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