RICHMOND, Va. -- Nothing is easier or tastier than a great dessert bar recipe – and here is one that Southern Living magazine says is their “simplest (and best) recipe ever”. Mary Rapoport joined us to share it!
1 ½ cups all-purpose flour, divided
1 cup granulated sugar, divided
½ cup butter, cubed and softened
¼ tsp. kosher salt
6 large eggs, room temp
1 cup fresh lemon juice (about 4 large lemons)
1 Tbsp. grated lemon zest
Powdered sugar
Preheat oven to 350°F. Coat an 8” or 9” square pan with baking spray then line bottom and sides with parchment paper, crisscross fashion, leaving a 1” overhang.
Stir together 1 cup of the flour and ¼ cup of the granulated sugar in a medium bowl. Add butter and work it into flour mixture, using your fingers, or crisscrossing two knives, until a shaggy dough forms and no large chunks remain. (Mixture should hold together when squeezed.) Press evenly into bottom and about ½” up sides of pan. Bake, uncovered, in preheated oven until lightly browned, 20-25 min.
Whisk together remaining ½ cup flour, ¾ cup granulated sugar, and salt in a large bowl. Add eggs and lemon juice, whisking mixture just until combined. Pour through a fine mesh strainer into a large bowl, using a spatula to press mixture through strainer. Discard solids and whisk in grated lemon zest.
Reduce oven temp to 300°F. Carefully pour filling over crust and bake, uncovered, until filling is set around edges and jiggles slightly in center, 20 – 25 min.
Let pan cool on a wire rack about 20 min. Lightly cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate until filling is completely set, 1 ½ hr. – 3 hours.
Carefully lift up and out of baking pan, using parchment as handles onto cutting board. Cut into squares. Sprinkle with powdered sugar just before serving.
Slice into 16 squares
