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A Nerd Cooks » Dessert » Brownies and Bars

Whole Lemon Bars

Mar 11, 2016 · Modified: Feb 26, 2023 by Lauren Pacek · This post may contain affiliate links. As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.

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These Whole Lemon Bars are sweet, tart, and delicious. You make them using an entire lemon!

Whole Lemon Bars | A Nerd Cooks

I've made these lemon bars several times in the past.  Friends have variously touted these bars as "the best lemon bars I've ever had" and "on fleek".

While I, personally, would probably not say "on fleek" in a non-ironic way, it is a pretty serious compliment. And honestly, these lemon bars are pretty dang fantastic.

Whole Lemon Bars | A Nerd Cooks

This recipe comes from The Smitten Kitchen Cookbook.

✨ Recipe

Whole Lemon Bars | A Nerd Cooks

Whole Lemon Bars

Lauren Pacek
These Whole Lemon Bars are sweet, tart, and delicious. You make them using an entire lemon!
5 from 1 vote
Print Recipe Pin Recipe
Prep Time 15 minutes mins
Cook Time 1 hour hr
Total Time 1 hour hr 15 minutes mins
Course Brownies and Bars
Cuisine American
Servings 16 people
Calories 263 kcal

Ingredients
  

For the crust

  • 1 cup all-purpose flour
  • ⅓ cup granulated sugar
  • ¼ teaspoon kosher salt
  • 8 tablespoon unsalted butter cold and cut into chunks

For the lemon filling

  • 1 Meyer lemon
  • 1 ⅓ cups granulated sugar
  • 8 tablespoon unsalted butter cold and cut into chunks
  • 4 large eggs
  • 2 tablespoon cornstarch
  • ¼ teaspoon kosher salt
  • powdered sugar for dusting on top

Instructions
 

  • Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Line an 8x8-inch baking pan with parchment paper, and spray the paper with cooking spray. Set aside.

To make the crust

  • Combine the flour, sugar, and salt in the bowl of a stand mixer. Pulse a couple of times until things are combined. Add the cold butter and pulse until the mixture is powdery. If you pinch the mixture, it should hold it's shape.
  • Press the crust into the bottom of the prepared baking dish, allowing the crust to go about ½ an inch up the sides of the pan. Poke it all over with a fork and bake for 20 minutes.

To make the filling

  • Start by cutting the lemon in half. If the white part of the skin is thick (i.e., ¼ inch or more), peel the skin from half of the lemon before continuing. The second half can be used as it is. If the white pith isn’t too thick, just proceed to the next step without peeling anything.
  • Cut the lemon halves into thin slices, removing and disposing of any seeds.  Put the lemon slices in the bowl of the food processor. Add the sugar and run the food processor until the lemon is thoroughly puréed (about 2 minutes). 
  • Add the butter and run it again until the mixture is smooth. Scrape the sides of the work bowl as needed. 
  • Add the eggs, cornstarch, and salt to the food processor. Pulse until well-combined.
  • Pour the lemon filling over the crust and bake for 35-40 minutes. The bars are done when the filling jiggles only a little bit in the middle.
  • Let the pan cool completely on a rack. Once cooled, cut the bars into 16 squares. Dust with powdered sugar.  
  • Store the bars in the fridge if not eating immediately.

Nutrition

Serving: 1Calories: 263kcalCarbohydrates: 36gProtein: 3gFat: 13gSaturated Fat: 8gPolyunsaturated Fat: 5gCholesterol: 77mgSodium: 59mgSugar: 28g

Disclaimer: Nutritional information is a generated estimate and is not guaranteed to be accurate.

Tried this recipe?Let us know how it was!
Whole Lemon Bars | A Nerd Cooks

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Comments

    5 from 1 vote (1 rating without comment)

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    Recipe Rating




  1. Kylee Cooks

    March 14, 2016 at 2:22 pm

    Saw these on delishogram! What a perfect picture you got!! (yummy recipe too)

    Reply
    • ANerdCooks

      March 14, 2016 at 2:23 pm

      Thank you, Kylee!! =)

      Reply
  2. Allie | In This Kitchen

    March 13, 2016 at 3:49 pm

    These look great! And if it's a recipe from Deb, certainly has to be good. I do love the idea of adding the whole lemon, basically - any bitterness will probably be covered by the sweet sugar anyway I'd imagine!

    Reply
    • ANerdCooks

      March 13, 2016 at 3:50 pm

      Thank you!! And I totally agree: If it's from Deb, you know it's gotta be good =).

      Reply
  3. Jo

    March 13, 2016 at 7:32 pm

    Yummy! I love love lemon bars and my lemon tree is exploding with lemons right now. Going to try these bars this week.

    Reply
  4. Ash Frog

    March 13, 2016 at 2:36 pm

    Interesting. How does including the rind make this dessert better? I assume it would just give the filling a slightly firmer texture and make it taste more bitter.

    Reply
    • ANerdCooks

      March 13, 2016 at 2:48 pm

      In my experience, it makes it seriously lemony, and gives it a bit of bitterness. Which is actually nice given how much sugar goes into lemon bars.

      Reply

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Hi, I'm Lauren! I'm the recipe developer, photographer, and writer here at A Nerd Cooks. I'm a 30-something wife, mom, and scientist with a passion for mixing cocktails, brewing buzzy coffee drinks, and making other delicious beverages at home.

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