Luscious Southern Meyer Lemon Bars are the perfect antidote for our cold winter weather. Fresh as sunshine, and full of Vitamin C, these scrumptious lemon bars made with Meyer lemons are guaranteed to brighten anyone’s day.
This year, it seems that everyone with a Meyer lemon tree or almost any citrus in North Florida had a prolific harvest. All the growing conditions must have been perfect, and even a small Meyer lemon tree we have in a pot on our back patio was loaded with the juicy fruit this year. In addition, friends have graciously shared some of their bountiful Meyer lemon and grapefruit harvest with us, so we now have a year’s supply of frozen lemon and grapefruit juice and zest. I also made several jars of preserved lemons, which are a true delicacy.
Of course, with the abundance of fresh Meyer lemons, I wanted to use as many as possible while they were still fresh. These yummy lemon bars are the perfect confection to showcase their lemony goodness!
This recipe for Luscious Southern Meyer Lemon Bars is a little more involved and takes more time than most of my recipes, but I can assure you it’s time well spent. You will end up with luscious lemon bars with the tangy, slightly tart sweetness of lemon curd and a rich cookie shortbread crust, which is topped with a dusting of confectioners’ sugar. And, speaking of a dusting, we got a rare dusting of snow lasting about 30 minutes in Tallahassee last week. For a few minutes at least, as our city ground to a halt and schools were closed, it looked like a winter wonderland!
If you like recipes that use Meyer lemons, you might also enjoy these delicious recipes: Meyer Lemon Tart with Gingersnap Crust, Easy No-Cook Meyer Lemon Ice Cream, and Luscious Lemon Swirl Cheesecake.
How to make Luscious Southern Meyer Lemon Bars
Take butter and eggs out of the refrigerator at least an hour before making the lemon bars to allow them to come to room temperature.
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.
Use an electric mixer to cream the butter and granulated sugar until the mixture is light and fluffy.
Combine the flour and salt and with the mixer on low, gradually add the flour mixture to the butter mixture until everything is combined.
Turn the dough out into a 9×13 inch baking dish and use your hands or the bottom of a glass to compress and flatten the dough evenly into the dish. Place the dish in the refrigerator and chill for a minimum of 30 minutes.
Once the dough has chilled, remove it from the refrigerator and bake for 15-20 minutes, or until it is lightly browned. Let the baking dish cool on a wire rack.
While the crust cools, place the eggs, sugar, lemon zest, lemon juice, and flour in a large bowl and whisk until well mixed.
Pour the lemon filling over the cooled cookie crust and bake for 30-35 minutes at 350 degrees until the filling is set. Remove the baking dish from the oven and let cool completely on a wire rack.
When cool, cut into squares and use a sifter or fine mesh strainer and liberally dust the bars with confectioners’ sugar.
Store any leftover lemon bars covered in the refrigerator for up to three days.
Luscious Southern Meyer Lemon Bars
Ingredients
Crust Ingredients:
- 2 sticks unsalted butter at room temperature
- 1/2 cup granulated sugar
- 2 cups all-purpose flour
- 1/8 tsp kosher salt
Lemon Filling:
- 6 eggs extra large, at room temperature
- 3 cups granulated sugar
- 2 Tbsp lemon zest
- 1 cup fresh Meyer lemon juice may substitute fresh regular lemon juice
- 1 cup flour
- 1 cup confectioners' sugar for dusting
Instructions
- Take the butter and eggs out of the refrigerator at least an hour before making the lemon bars to allow them to come to room temperature.
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.
- Use an electric mixer to cream the butter and granulated sugar until the mixture is light and fluffy.
- Combine the flour and salt and with the mixer on low, gradually add the flour mixture to the butter mixture until everything is combined.
- Turn the dough out into a 9x13 inch baking dish and use your hands or the bottom of a glass to compress and flatten the dough evenly in the dish. Place the dish in the refrigerator and chill for a minimum of 30 minutes.
- Once the dough has chilled, remove it from the refrigerator and bake for 15-20 minutes, or until it is lightly browned. Let the baking dish cool on a wire rack.
- While the crust cools, place the eggs, sugar, lemon zest, lemon juice, and flour in a large bowl and whisk until well mixed.
- Pour the lemon filling over the cooled cookie crust and bake for 30-35 minutes at 350 degrees until the filling is set. Remove the baking dish from the oven and let cool completely on a wire rack.
- When cool, cut into squares and use a sifter or fine mesh strainer and liberally dust the bars with confectioners' sugar.
- Store any leftover lemon bars covered in the refrigerator for up to three days.
These are delicious! My mom and husband loved them because they are so full of lemony flavor. We have two Meyer lemon trees so this will be a go to recipe to use them. I have a Limequat tree and I’m going to try the recipe using those.
Vicki, I’m so glad you enjoyed them. I haven’t ever tried making this recipe with limequats; please let me know how it goes!
All the best,
Sharon
Can I make the crust the nite before?
Yes, no problem!
Excellent Lemon bars. I enjoyed the cookie crust and the very lemony taste. I didn’t use as much powdered sugar on top. Everyone enjoyed them.
The lemon bars were delicious !!
Perfect mix of sweet and tart. I will definitely be making this again.
Hi Nora,
I’m so glad you enjoyed them and I appreciate your letting me know. They are a favorite of mine too!
All my best,
Sharon
My filling came out GREAT! But the crust was like concrete. I’m not really a baker, so I’m not real sure where I went wrong! I am going to recycle the filling and make shooters with graham cracker crust and top with whipped cream, so not a total loss!!!
Hey Lisa,
I’m so sorry it took me so long to get back to you, I was out of town for the weekend without my computer. I can’t imagine why your crust ended up being so hard, but your solution sounds genius and I’m sure it will be delicious!
Sincerely,
Sharon
Can you freeze these? We have a lemon tree, and would love to double or triple the recipe.
Hi Elizabeth, I have never frozen them, but several sources on the internet say they do freeze well. The article I read says it works best to freeze the bars on one flat surface, then when they are thoroughly frozen you can put them into storage bags. Let me know how it goes if you do decide to freeze them and good luck!
All my best,
Sharon
Really great! I used 2 1/4 cups sugar in the filling (3 seemed like too much) and immediately poured it on the hot, out-of-the-oven baked crust (didn’t wait for it to cool). Texture and flavor were amazing!
Hi Rich, thanks, so much for much for letting me know! I’m so glad you enjoyed the lemon bars and also really glad to see they are still just as good with less sugar!
Thanks again!
Sharon
My grandma loves lemon bars, I will have to try these for her!