"When Life Gives You Lemon" Bars

lemons
I came home from my weekend away to a giant box of Meyer Lemons from a dear California friend with a tree in her front yard.  What's a girl to do when life gives her a box of lemons?

The first thing I had to make was my family's favorite Lemon Bars.  I use my mom's friends recipe that I've been eating since I was a babe... with some modifications, of course!
lemonbar
LEMON BARS
adapted from Betty Siegal

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.

SHORTBREAD
In a 9 x 13 pan mix together by hand:
1 cup butter, softened
1/2 cuper powered sugar
2 cups flour

Press crumbly mixture until flat.
Bake 15 min or until slightly brown.

FILLING
Beat together in a medium bowl:
4 eggs
2 cups sugar
1/3 cup fresh lemon juice
zest of one lemon (I use this for zesting, my FAV kitchen tool!)

Mix together in another medium bowl:
1/4 cup flour
1 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt

Pour liquid mixture slowly into dry ingredients whisking as you pour! (This will help avoid lumps.)
Pour onto crust.

Bake 25 min, then turn down heat to 325 F and bake another 10 minutes.  This step is KEY as it helps to caramelize the sugar, especially around the edges, which are ALL.MINE!
lemonbar_pan
Remove from oven, sprinkle with powered sugar (if desired, I don't do this), allow to cool and cut into bars.

There are still TONS of lemons left... I've got a jar of Moroccan Preserved Lemons started, they won't be ready for a month, and I look forward to finding ways of incorporating them into our fall dinners!
preserved
Later in the week I am making Shaker Lemon Pie for our weekend guests! What would you make if life (or a dear friend) sent you 10 pounds of lemons?

Comments

  1. For one of those big-birthdays-that-end-in-zero, I distributed Meyer lemons to all of himself's family members, with the instruction that they were each to use them to make a dessert. We all went out for dinner together, then gathered at SIL's house, where we enjoyed the immense array of Meyer lemon desserts.

    He says it was his best birthday ever -- but I think that's just because we had so many amazing desserts!!

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    1. Oh my.. what a great way to celebrate! LOVE that idea! I want to to that with chocolate for my next 0 birthday!

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  2. If you asked my husband, he would tell you that you should make a lemon meringue pie! That's what I do - but only once a year for his Valentine's Day gift.

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  3. What a wonderful thing to come home to! DH discovered Meyers lemons a few years ago and adores them! Such a delicious treat!

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  4. I wanna try the Moroccan lemons!!! looks so good! but no meyer lemons around here ;(

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  5. Oh, please, please tell me what you would use these Moroccan lemons for. They sound amazing, but would you add them to recipes as you would lemon, or spread them on something, or what??

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    1. Here's a few really yummy sounding recipes! I want to try out more than one!!!! http://www.food.com/cookbook/recipes-using-preserved-lemons-94074

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  6. Lemon curd! Then lemon and blueberry pie- no meringue.

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  8. Lemonade Popsicles! You could even mix them with yogurt and make creamsicles! I just found the CUTEST posicle molds ever on amazon!

    http://www.amazon.com/Tovolo-Ice-Cream-Pop-Molds/dp/B00395BD86/ref=sr_1_12?ie=UTF8&qid=1346365572&sr=8-12&keywords=popsicle+molds

    They look like little soft serves and they work really well too!

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