Are these scrumptious looking or what? These lemon squares are the perfect balance of sweet and sour. They are so addicting that I am unable to rest until they have all been devoured. It’s sad but true.
I’ve been making these lemon delights since I was a young girl. I don’t even know where the original recipe originated from; it’s just scribbled on a piece of paper that is now yellowing from age.
The best part about these little pleasure bombs is that they are so easy to make, requiring zero kitchen skills. You don’t even have to get your mixer out. So let’s get to work, the faster we make them, the sooner we eat.
Here are your ingredients; all normal kitchen staples, I bet you don’t even have to go to the store. Flour, butter. sugar (granulated and powdered), eggs, lemons, baking powder and salt.
Start by greasing a 9 x 13 pan with butter or cooking spray. I like the cooking spray called Baker’s Joy that has flour in it.
First we are going to make the beautiful golden crust for the bottom of the lemon squares. So get out your all-purpose flour. I swear I buy flour every time I go to the market. It’s pretty scary how much white flour we’re eating over here.
Add 2 cups of flour to a mixing bowl.
Now fetch the powdered sugar or the confectioner’s sugar, if you want to talk fancy. I think more people know what you are talking about when you say powdered. But whatever term you use I will still love you. Now put two spoonfuls in your mouth like I always do. I really do, it’s so good.
Add 1/2 cup of powdered sugar to the flour. Just plop it in…no skill required.
Now for the most important ingredient; the Grand Poobah of the culinary world, BUTTER. Two sticks even! This is what makes the crust of these squares so over-the-top. You’ll see.
Now take your glorious 2 sticks of butter (1 cup) and melt them in a saucepan or in the microwave if you’re lazy like me.
Pour the melted butter into the flour-sugar mixture. This is quite the action shot huh? Ahhh, a waterfall of butter.
With a whisk or wooden spoon stir the mixture together until all the dry ingredients have incorporated with the wet.
This is what the mixture will look like. Taste it, it’s good. Dump it into your already greased 9 x 13 pan.
Press the dough into the pan with your fingers until it looks like this. It does not need to be perfect since it will eventually be covered with the filling. Do you see the shimmer on this? That’s the BUTTER!
Place pan into a 350 degree oven for 20 minutes.
When it comes out of the oven it will look like this, only better due to the pathetic photography. The edges will be slightly golden brown. Let this cool completely before adding the topping that we will now make.
Let’s start with 4 large eggs in a mixing bowl. Hello four-eyes.
Now for the granulated sugar or regular sugar as I refer to it.
Add 2 cups of sugar to the four eyes, I mean four eggs.
Now it’s lemon squeezing time again, using my favorite tool!
Add 6 Tablespoons of lemon juice. Don’t you love the shadowing in this picture. It’s those pesky overhead kitchen lights that are totally interfering with all my pictures!
Grab the salt…
Now aren’t these the cutest things you’ve ever seen. I mean I never had any idea what was bigger; a dash, a pinch or a smidgen. Now I know, but I love using them because I am a very exacting-type person who loves to measure things.
We will be using a dash of salt. It looks like I added the salt before the sugar but it does not matter.
Now whisk all of this together.
Get the flour out again. See this is why I’m always buying flour.
Add 4 Tablespoons of flour.
Find the baking powder. Who would ever want to be known as Clabber Girl?
Add 1 teaspoon of baking powder to the mixture.
Whisk it all up again.
Pour the mixture on top of the already cooled crust and put in a 350 degree oven for 25 minutes. Make sure it is fully baked and not runny before removing from the oven.
When it comes out of the oven sprinkle powdered sugar on top while it’s still hot. Sprinkle again when it has completely cooled.
Wait until it’s completely cool and then slice into squares.
Then you have these….
And those…
Then you’re left with this. And lots of guilt. And inner thighs that are becoming kissing cousins.
Again culinary simplicity at its finest. You’ll love these, I promise.
The Best Lemon Squares
Ingredients
Directions
Crust:
Filling:
Hide these from the kids, they will eat them all!
Let me know how yours turn out.