Lemon Bars

Crust
1 C (5 oz/142 g) all-purpose flour
¼ C (1 ¾ oz/50 g) granulated sugar
½ t salt (3 g)
8 T (113 T) unsalted butter, melted

Filling
1 C (7 oz/198 g) granulated sugar
2 T (18 g) all-purpose flour
2 t (6 g) cream of tartar
¼ t salt
3 large eggs plus 3 large yolks
2 t grated lemon zest plus 2/3 C juice (4 lemons)
4 T unsalted butter, cut into 8 pieces
powdered sugar (optional)

Crust – Position oven rack to middle position and heat to 350° F (177° C). Form foil sling for 8-inch square baking pan by folding 2 long sheets of aluminum foil so each is 8 inches wide. Lay sheets in pan perpendicular to each other, with extra hanging over edges of pan. Push foil into corners and up sides of pan, smoothing flush to pan.

Whisk flour, sugar, and salt together in large bowl. Add melted butter and stir until combined. Transfer mixture to prepared pan and press into even layer over bottom of pan (do not wash bowl). Bake crust until dark golden brown, 19 to 24 minutes, rotating pan halfway through baking. Set aside.

Filling – While crust bakes, whisk sugar, flour, cream of tartar, and salt together in now-empty bowl. Whisk in eggs and yolks until no streaks of egg remain. Whisk in lemon zest and juice. Transfer mixture to saucepan and cook over medium-low heat, stirring constantly, until mixture thickens and registers 160° F (71° C), 5 to 8 minutes. Off heat, stir in butter until melted. Strain filling through fine-mesh strainer set over bowl.

Pour filling over warm crust and spread evenly. Bake until filling is set and barely jiggles when pan is shaken, 8 to 12 minutes. Cool bars completely, at least 1 ½ hours. Using foil overhang, lift bars out of pan and transfer to cutting board. Cut into bars, wiping knife clean between cuts as necessary. Before serving, dust bars with powdered sugar.

Makes: 16 bars

13 Mar 18 – Followed recipe as written. Used large glass Pyrex bowl for all preparation. Shortbread dough came together easily and with a nice consistency. Even though I Did NOT spray foil sling, neither shortbread or curd stuck to it when removing from pan. Used fingers to spread and even out shortbread in pan. Tried bottom of metal measuring cup but dough stuck to it. Baked shortbread in island oven for 24 mins after which it turned somewhat light golden brown. Used 2 large lemons for the zest, produced more than 2 t and juiced the 2 large lemons plus ½ small lemon for juice. Mixed liquid ingredients together and not surprisingly it like very broken “nasty” after adding the lemon juice. Cooked lemon mix in large sauce pan for 8 plus mins. It did not change consistency until it reach 150° F plus and then it started to thicken. I was surprised how much zest and other debris there was after straining lemon curd. Do NOT skip this step. Baked bars in island oven for 12 mins. Center slightly giggled at 8 and 10 mins, not so much at 12 mins. Bars cut nicely using large chef knife, cleaning blade after each cut. Lemon flavor was nicely tart.