Lemon Blueberry Bars

I can think of no more quintessentially spring like sweet treat than lemon bars.  Lemon bars are iconic "old school" cookie bars with a buttery shortbread crust and golden, sweet-tart lemon filling.  They're usually dusted with powdered sugar once cooled,  and cut into bars before devouring.

I add a secret ingredient, lavender, to take mine to the next level, but totally up to you if you're a lavender loather.

I took the liberty of adding lavender to mine as I am a lover of this flower that has a unique flavor present in the buds that is used in teas, baked items, simple syrups and that I find just lovely in these bars. 

I LOVE HOW EASY THESE BARS ARE & THE INGREDIENTS ARE SO SIMPLE

My daughters cringe at my love of lavender so please feel free to leave it out if you're of similar opinion, but if you're in my lavender league then enjoy the added nuance it lends these Lucious lemon bars.

PAT THE CRUST EVENLY INTO THE PAN

I also dot my bars with fat, juicy blueberries that compliment the lemon & lavender so well.  Lemon, lavender and blueberry are a terrific trio of flavors. 

THE GOLDEN EGGY MIXTURE WILL BE POURED RIGHT OVER THE HOT CRUST

I love that this treat is really simple to whip up, especially if you have a food processor.  I make the buttery crust, pack it into the pan, then in the same bowl of my food processor without even needing a rinse, I make the filling.
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TESTING OUT THE BLUEBERRY SITUATION AS THIS GOES INTO THE OVEN

THIS WAS MY EXPERIMENTAL BATCH WITH ADDING BLUEBERRIES TO HALF. THE BERRIES ARE A WIN!

The filling is foamy and ready to pour onto the hot crust as soon as it finishes its initial bake, then I plop those beautiful blueberries atop and back into the oven it goes.  So easy! Should I say "easy peasy lemon squeezy?"  Right....that's cheesy.

My Kitchenaid Food Processor is at least 10 years old & still going strong.

My Ninja Blender gets used every day and it was the perfect tool for the frothy lemon layer..

 Lemon Blueberry Bars (Lavender optional)




Crust
1 cup all purpose flour
1 stick (1/2 cup) cold butter, cut into cubes
1/4 cuppowdered sugar, plus extra for dusting
1/4 teaspoon of salt (I like sea salt)


Lemon Filling
2 eggs. for the most beautiful color use pasture raised eggs like Vital Farms
1/2 cup sugar (I like to use natural cane sugar)
1 lemon, all of the zest and 2 tablespoons of the juice
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon lavender buds (culinary grade) (Optional)
Small pinch of salt (I like sea salt)


1/2 cup fresh blueberries
Extra powdered sugar for dusting


Preheat oven to 350 degrees

Blitz the crust ingredients together in a food processor or cut the butter into the flour and sugar with a couple of forks until the mixture resembles course sand.

Pat firmly into an 8 x 8 inch baking pan and bake for about 20 minutes.  Lining the baking pan with crisscrossing sheets of parchment paper makes removal easy. 


While the crust bakes, make the filling by adding all the lemon filling ingredients except the blueberries into the food processor (you don't even need to rinse out the bowl) and blitz together a couple of minutes until the mixture is very foamy and light colored.  Alternatively you can use a blender or hand mixer to combine the filling well.


When the crust has baked 20 minutes, pour the freshly blitzed filling (you want it to still be foamy) over the hot crust and dot the top with the blueberries. 

Place back in the oven for an additional 20-25 minutes until the filling is set. 
Let cool completely then dust with powdered sugar and cut into bars. 
​You'll have between 12-16 bars depending on how large you cut them.

Using parchment paper ensures easy clean up & that your baked goods don't stick.  I buy 200 sheets at a time & rarely bake anything without one, even veggies and fish.

You'll need an 8x8 baking pan for this.  Nordic Ware is good quality.