Whole Lemon Bars

As much as I prefer the nice warm weather of summer over the cold and dreary winter, there is one thing I really love about winter-the abundance of citrus!  Citrus season is one of my favorite fruit seasons and I always find that I can't get enough lemons, grapefruit, oranges, blood oranges-you name it.  I love them in any form-on their own, in savory dishes, in drinks and definitely as desserts.  I've mentioned on here that I love lemon desserts just about as much as I love chocolate desserts, sometimes even more when I'm in the mood. I had never made lemon bars before, and for a citrus lover like me, that had to change.

They are fabulous and have a melt in your mouth buttery crust with the perfect consistency for a lemon bar inside. What makes this recipe different from most of your standard lemon bar recipes is that it uses the whole lemon-not just the juice and the zest-the entire lemon.  Since you are using the whole lemon, I would recommend making sure it is really clean and if you can, try to get an organic lemon for this recipe. For as many bars as this recipe made, they really did disappear very fast.  I wouldn't mind making another batch because they really are very easy to make.

Whole Lemon Bars

For the Crust:
1 cup (140g) flour
1/4 cup (50g) sugar
1/4 teaspoon salt
8 tablespoons (115g) melted unsalted butter
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

For the Filling:
1 small-to-medium-sized lemon
1 1/3 cups sugar
8 tablespoons unsalted butter, cut into chunks
4 large eggs
2 tablespoons cornstarch
1/4 teaspoon salt
Powdered sugar for garnishment

Preheat the oven to 350ºF. Overturn an 8-inch square pan on the counter and wrap the outside snugly with foil, shiny side up. Remove the foil, turn the pan over, and fit the foil into the pan, pressing to nudge the foil into the corners. Then smooth it as best you can. Lightly butter or spray the surface of the foil with nonstick spray.

In a medium bowl, mix the flour, 1/4 cup (50g) sugar, 1/4 teaspoon salt, 8 tablespoons (115g) melted butter, and vanilla, stirring just until smooth.

Smooth the batter into the bottom of the pan, using your hands or a small offset spatula to get it as level as possible.

Bake the crust for 25 minutes, or until it’s deep-golden brown.

Prepare the filling in a food processor or blender. Slice lemon in half, and if the white part of the skin is more than 1/4 inch thick- remove the skin from half of the lemon or the bitterness of pith can overwhelm the bars. To remove the skin, place the lemon cut-side-down on the cutting board, and remove the skin and pith from the entire half in downward cuts and remove.  If it is not, then slice the lemon half. The second half, even if just as thick, can be used as is. Cut into slices.

Remove any seeds from the lemon slices and toss the lemon - flesh and peel - in the bowl of your food processor or blender. Add the sugar, and run the machine until the lemon is thoroughly pureed, about 1 to 2 minutes. Add the butter and run until the mixture is smooth, scraping down the sides of the food processor as needed. Add the eggs, cornstarch and salt and pulse until fully combined.

Pour the lemon mixture over the crust and bake for 35 to 40 minutes, or until the filling is set. You can check if the middle jiggles slightly, then they are finished baking - if they are jiggling alot - bake for another 5 minutes or until the top has slightly browned.

Let the bars cool completely on rack or in the fridge. Gently lift the parchment paper and place on cutting board. Slice into squares and sprinkle with powdered sugar.

Note: If using Meyer lemons, use just one (of similar size and weight) and reduce the sugar to 1 cup (200 grams). You can double the recipe and bake it in a 9-by-13- inch pan as well. 



Source: Crust recipe from David Lebovitz, filling from Smitten Kitchen, via Mrs. Regueiro's Plate