Meyer Lemon Bars

This week I saw, to my delight, Meyer lemons at my grocery store. I *had* to used them. Meyer lemons are quite a bit different from your typical Lisbon or  Eureka lemons. Their skins are this absolutely gorgeous deep yellow with an orange tint that just makes me think of the word 'Buttercup'. The smell of the rind though, that smell! It's such a beautifully floral smell. I've heard it described as an 'intoxicating aroma that has hints of honey and thyme'. Yeah, I'm not talented in the vast world of writing.

While searching for an idea of how to use these little gold nuggets, I found this great sounding lemon bar recipe from Alpineberry and decided to give it a try. She described the perfect lemon bar using Meyer lemons that had a tart, but sweet filling. I loathe lemon pastries in general because of the overwhelming egg taste that ruins any lemon flavor. I'm happy to say that this recipe is a keeper. The taste was amazing, but I definitely have to try and perfect my technique. Not to the fault of the recipe-my filling was slightly unevenly cooked and lopsided. That still didn't stop my family from eating it all by morning. ;)

Lemon Bars
(makes one 8-inch square pan)

Crust:
1 cup all purpose flour
1/2 cup confectioners' sugar
1/8 tsp salt
4 ounces (1 stick) unsalted butter, cold and cut into 1/2 inch pieces

Filling:
2 large eggs
1 cup superfine or bakers' sugar
2 tbsp all purpose flour
1/8 tsp salt
2 tsp finely grated lemon zest
1/4 cup freshly squeezed lemon juice

Preheat oven to 350F. Butter and line an 8-inch square pan with parchment paper.

To make crust:
Combine flour, confectioners' sugar and salt in the bowl of a food processor. Add butter and pulse until the mixture is pebbly.  (I used a pastry cutter.)

Press evenly into the bottom of your prepared pan. Bake until lightly golden, about 18-20 minutes. Set aside crust.

To make filling:
In a medium bowl, whisk together eggs, sugar, flour and salt. Whisk in lemon zest and juice until well combined. Pour over crust (it's okay if crust is still hot).

Bake until filling is just set, about 15 to 18 minutes. Cool completely before serving. Dust with confectioners' sugar if desired.

 

I'm staring at this bright picture and drooling. Damn.