Best Lemon Bar Recipe (2024)

FAQs

Why can't i use a metal pan for lemon bars? ›

– It's best to use a glass or a ceramic pan. Because if you use a metal pan, the acid will react with the lemon juice and the bars will have a slight metallic taste. – Also, make sure not to overcook the filling because it may get a rubbery texture instead of a smooth and creamy one.

Don't Over-Bake.

If you leave them in the oven too long, it can cause your bars to crack. The surface of your lemon bars should have small bubble holes, but not large cracks.

To avoid them being too gooey make sure you allow them to set completely when you take them out of the oven. You know when lemon bars are done when you move the pan a bit and they don't jiggle. You should cut the lemon bars when they are completely cool.

Swedish pearl sugar: Pure white, coarse granules of Swedish pearl sugar can withstand high heat without melting, so the granules retain their shape after baking and lend baked goods like Cardamom Buns and Vanilla Polka Dots a pleasing crunch.

Store it in an airtight container: Powdered sugar can absorb moisture from the air and clump together. Storing it in an airtight container can help to keep it fresh and prevent clumping. Keep it cool and dry: Powdered sugar should be stored in a cool and dry place, such as a pantry or cupboard.

Line your 9x13 pan with foil or parchment paper. I've used both. Foil tends to stick to the bottom of the lemon bars a bit, so if I had to choose one, I'd say use parchment paper.

Prepare your chef's knife for cutting by coating with cooking spray and then wiping it clean with a paper towel. This step will help prevent the knife from sticking to the bars as you cut.

When you are ready to cut and serve these delicious lemon bars, here are a few helpful tips to get smooth cuts every time. Allow the bars to set completely before cutting. It might help to refrigerate them overnight and wait to cut before you plan to serve.

Lemon bars should be stored in an airtight container and refrigerated in order to prevent bacterial growth or foodborne illness. The filling in lemon bars is made with eggs and can become a breeding ground for bacteria if it's kept in the danger zone (between 41 and 153 degrees F).

If your lemon bars have a strong eggy taste/smell, it's likely due to the lemon curd being overbaked. Be sure to take the lemon bars out of the oven as soon as they're done.

Can I Rebake undercooked lemon bars? ›

This will keep them from spreading and becoming sticky. Can you rebake undercooked lemon bars? Results may vary, but it's worth a shot! Throw them back in the oven at the original temperature and rotate every 5 minutes until it appears done.

Yes, lemon bars freeze beautifully—they are even good frozen! To freeze the bars, let them cool completely and freeze the batch whole, covered tightly with aluminum foil or plastic freezer wrap, for up to three months.

Don't bake in aluminum foil or directly in an aluminum pan. Aluminum will react with the acidic lemon juice and give the bars a metallic taste and can even affect the color. For a softer (but still not soggy!) crust, bake for only 15 minutes and edges are not golden brown.

To keep powdered sugar from melting when used to dust a dessert, The Kitchn recommends thoroughly mixing a teaspoon of cornstarch into 1/4 of every cup of powdered sugar used.

How do you keep powdered sugar from dissolving on donuts? Try mixing 1 teaspoon cornstarch for every ¼ cup of powdered sugar. For this powdered sugar donut recipe, this would be 1 tablespoon + 1 teaspoon or 4 teaspoons cornstarch.

Confectioners' sugar is less likely to melt into different sweets and breads than powdered sugar is. In confectioners' sugar, a very small amount of cornstarch—just about 3 to 5 percent of the weight of the granulated sugar—is added to the sugar before it is processed.

With that said, icing sugar will have the lowest melting point, followed by brown, coconut, and then white sugar. From this study, the melting points of each type of sugar were found to be 368.7°F (white sugar), 340.0°F (brown sugar), 350.0°F (icing sugar), and 306.7°F (coconut sugar).