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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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Greetings!Mariann Taylor here of Taylor Kitchen. My husband and I created this site, Pinterest and Instagram accounts, and affiliated YouTube channel as an outlet for one of my passions....cooking. I love to cook and my husband, Tim, is a willing participant in my culinary escapades, as well as chief taste tester. We hope you'll join us, try some TaylorKitchen creations and like and subscribe to our YouTube channel. Categories
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