blissful eats with tina jeffers: lemon bars with brown butter shortbread crust
Fall has it's advantages, a steaming mug of hot chocolate after a Saturday morning soccer game, the fiery colors of fall foliage, the crisp chill in the air and yes, the rain. I could use a respite from the rain. It's been cold, wet and gray here and it's making me feel a little blue so I decided to bring a little sunshine into my day. Puckery, pungent and devilishly tangy, lemons add a beautiful brightness to any dish you add it to. I found the first meyer lemons of the season and knew that it would brighten my mood to turn these little orbs of sunshine in some luscious lemon bars! The brown butter in the recipe adds a nutty caramel note to the lemon bars. Next time the weather gets you down these lemon bars should help perk you up, they definitely brought a smile to my face! If you'd like to see more recipes and photos visit me at www.scalingbackblog.com
lemon bars with brown butter shortbread crust
From Martha Stewart
Ingredients:
for the crust:
¾ cup unsalted butter, plus more for the pan
1 ½ cups all purpose flour
½ cup confectioners sugar
1/8 teaspoon salt
for the filling:
6 large eggs
1 large egg yolk
pinch of salt
½ cup all-purpose flour
2 ¼ cups granulated sugar
¾ cup freshly squeezed lemon juice
zest of 1 lemon, finely grated
for serving:
confectioners sugar, for dusting
Method:
Butter a 9-by-13 inch baking pan; line baking pan with parchment paper, leaving a 3-inch overhang on all sides.
For the crust; Melt the butter in a small skillet over medium-high heat until it is brown in color and smells nutty. Remove pan from heat and pour butter into the bowl of an electric mixer. Transfer butter to refrigerator until solid about 15 minutes. Remove from the refrigerator and let soften slightly.
Transfer bowl to electric mixer and beat until butter is smooth. Sift flour, confectioners sugar and salt into the bowl and mix on low speed until combined.
Transfer dough to prepared pan and press evenly into bottom of the pan using the back of a measuring cup; it should be about ¼ inch thick. Transfer to refrigerator and chill until firm, about 30 minutes.
Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
Transfer baking pan to oven and bake until crust is golden brown, about 20 minutes.
Make the filling:
Meanwhile, whisk together eggs, egg yolks and salt in a large bowl. In a separate bowl, whisk together flour and sugar. Add lemon juice and zest, whisk until sugar is dissolved. Add egg mixture to flour mixture and whisk until well combined.
When the crust is golden brown, pull out oven rack and evenly pour filling mixture directly over hot crust. Immediately reduce oven temperature to 300 degrees and bake until center is set, 30 to 40 minutes.
Remove baking pan from oven and transfer to a wire rack. Let lemon bars cool completely before covering and transferring to refrigerator until chilled.
Using a sharp knife dipped in hot water and wiped dry, cut lemon bars into twenty-four 2-inch squares and dust with confectioners sugar just before serving, if desired.