Lemon Bars – A deliciously crispy, buttery shortbread crust topped with a creamy, sweet and tangy lemon filling!

A stack of three thick lemon bars dusted with icing sugar on a baking tray.

Don’t you just love lemon dessert recipes? They’re so bright and full of flavour, and they remind me of Spring/Summer time. Because I’m craving warmer weather and tangy lemon dessert, today I bring you these irresistible Lemon Bars!

Overhead shot of thick lemon bars dusted with icing sugar on a baking tray with lemon slices.
A stack of three lemon bars dusted with icing sugar on a baking tray with lemon slices.

Ingredients for Lemon Bars:

For the shortbread crust

  • unsalted butter
  • plain/all-purpose flour
  • caster/granulated sugar
  • salt

For the lemon filling

  • large eggs
  • fresh lemon juice and zest
  • caster/granulated sugar
  • plain/all-purpose flour

These Lemon Bars are absolutely delicious. They have a very simple crispy, buttery shortbread crust, and a creamy, zesty lemon filling. They’re super easy to throw together, and are baked in no time at all. 15 minutes for the crust, and a further 30 minutes with the filling.

Allow to cool completely, dust with a little icing sugar, and you’re done! I like to refrigerate my bars overnight for neater slices.

Two thick lemon bars dusted with icing sugar served overlapped on a small white plate with lemon slices.
Two lemon bars dusted with icing sugar served on a small white plate with a fork and lemon slices.
Lemon Bars - A deliciously crispy, buttery shortbread crust topped with a creamy, sweet and tangy lemon filling! #lemonbars #lemonrecipes #summerrecipes

More lemon recipes to try next!

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A stack of three thick lemon bars dusted with icing sugar on a baking tray.
Simply Bake

Lemon Bars

A deliciously crispy, buttery shortbread crust topped with a creamy, sweet and tangy lemon filling!
Author: Marsha
Prep Time: 20 minutes
Cook Time: 50 minutes
Total Time: 1 hour 10 minutes
Yields: 16 bars

Ingredients

For the Base

  • 1 cup (226g) unsalted butter, softened
  • 2 cups (250g) plain/all-purpose flour
  • ½ cup (100g) caster/granulated sugar
  • ¼ teaspoon salt

For the Filling

  • 6 large eggs
  • 1 cup (240ml) freshly squeezed lemon juice, about 6 – 7 lemons
  • 2 tablespoons lemon zest, about 2 lemons, optional
  • 2 ¼ cups (450g) caster/granulated sugar
  • 1 cup (125g) plain/all-purpose flour

Instructions

For the Base

  • Preheat the oven to 180C/350F/Gas 4. Line a 9×13-inch baking tray with foil and grease with baking spray or butter. Set aside.
  • Using a handheld or stand mixer, beat together the butter, flour, sugar, and salt until a crumbly dough forms. Press the mixture into the prepared baking tray, and bake for 15 – 20 minutes until lightly golden.

For the filling

  • Whisk together the eggs, lemon juice, zest, sugar, and flour. Pour over the hot baked crust, and bake for an additional 30 – 35 minutes until the filling is set.
  • Allow to cool completely in the pan on a wire rack. Dust with icing sugar, then slice and serve.
  • I like to refrigerate my bars for a few hours or overnight for neater slices.

Recipe Notes

Lemon bars can be kept in an airtight container at room temperature or in the fridge for up to 3 days. They also freeze well for up to 1 month. Thaw overnight in the fridge before serving.
You can half this recipe to bake in an 8×8-inch square pan.

Nutrition Information:

Serving: 1barCalories: 265kcalCarbohydrates: 32gProtein: 5gFat: 14gSaturated Fat: 8gPolyunsaturated Fat: 5gCholesterol: 100mgSodium: 66mgFiber: 1gSugar: 13g

Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.

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20 Comments

  2. Hi Marsha, these lemon bars are so simple to put together and taste so delicious. I love the tartness of lemon enough to only use half of the sugar in the recipe. The next thing I know is that I am in lemon heaven. Not recommended if anyone can’t eat very sour bars. Thanks for sharing.

    Reply

  4. Yes, I totally do! There’s just something about lemon that really lightens up a dessert in the most enjoyable way! 🙂 It’s sweet, it’s tart, it’s just dessert bliss. These bars look gorgeous, Marsha! Hope you and your family have an amazing weekend! Pinned, of course. xo

    Reply

  5. Hi Marsha, I can’t wait to try out this recipe and thank you for putting in all the conversions for Brits and Europeans x

    Reply

  6. Yes, I totally do! There’s just something about lemon that really lightens up a dessert in the most enjoyable way! 🙂 It’s sweet, it’s tart, it’s just dessert bliss. These bars look gorgeous, Marsha! Hope you and your family have an amazing weekend! Pinned, of course. xo

    Reply

  11. You are speaking my language! Lemon bars are the quintessential spring dessert, tangy and sweet with a shortbread crust — I am all over this! There goes the diet — again! You’re really a bad influence on me.

    Reply

  13. Lemon bars have to be my all time favorite, they just taste so good! I’ll have to use this recipe very soon, your bars look gorgeous!

    Reply