Having half a dozen lemons and limes in the fridge drew me to this recipe. I didn't want to make a tart, a pie, or even a ice cream. I wanted something homey, traditional and pretty much what one could label as "comfort food". Lemon Bars are the epitome of comfort food so lemon lime bars sprinkled with icing sugar and topped with lime zest seemed like a pretty good idea.This recipe makes thick, sweet and tangy lemon lime bars; a perfect citrus combination especially lovely this time of year. The crust is an amazing shortbread that works very well with the tangy fruit filling. For dessert, I highly recommended serving these alongside a dollop of whipped cream.
The original recipe hails from Better Homes and Gardens. I followed it to the letter but found the baking time, at least in my oven, was way off. I needed to add an extra 10 minutes to get it to set properly. So I recommend you start off with the original recipe time-frame and then check it from there until you can move the pan gently without the center giggling all over the place. Extra baking time will cause it to brown a bit more on top than usual but have no fear, it will soon be sprinkled liberally with powdered sugar and no one will be the wiser.
I also found that the source recipe didn't have enough lime added to it other than a measly teaspoon of lime zest. So instead of adding the full 1/2 cup of lemon juice to the filling I divided it into 1/4 cup lemon juice and 1/4 cup lime juice.
To begin you will need to line a 9" x 13" baking pan with heavy foil so it covers the bottom and sides with a slight overhang around all the edges. Next preheat that oven to 350F and get baking!
Baked and cooling at room temperature
This will need another 2 hours in the fridge before slicing
RECIPE:
CRUST
2/3 cup unsalted butter at room temperature
1/2 cup packed golden brown sugar
2 cups all purpose flour
Zest of 1 large lemon
FILLING
6 large eggs
2 1/4 cup granulated sugar
1/2 cup all purpose flour
3/4 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 cup lemon juice
1/4 cup lime juice
zest of 1 large lemon
1 teaspoon lime zest
1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
feel free to add a drop or two of yellow food dye to give it a rich yellow color!
TOPPING
powdered sugar
lime zest
MAKE IT
PREHEAT oven to 350F
LINE 9x13" pan with heavy foil
IN BOWL OF A STAND MIXER fitted with paddle blade, beat butter 1 minute MED speed
ADD brown sugar and cream until combined
ADD flour and lemon zest beating until mixture resembles coarse crumbs
PRESS into bottom and up the sides of prepared pan
BAKE 20 minutes (or until center is set)
REMOVE and let rest on cooling rack while you prepare the filling
IN BOWL OF A STAND MIXER fitted with paddle blade, combine all ingredients and MIX on MED 2-3 minutes scraping down sides when necessary
POUR into hot crust
RETURN to oven and bake an additional 20-25 minutes or until center is set. This too an extra 10 minutes in my oven so keep checking after 20 minutes and adjust baking time accordingly.
REMOVE from oven and let rest on baking rack 1 hour
COVER AND TRANSFER to fridge for 2 hours
SPRINKLE generously with powdered sugar and lime zest
LIFT bars out of pan gently by pulling up on foil edges
CUT with a knife dipped in hot water. Dip knife in hot water after each cut to ensure clean and smooth edges
