Tart Lemon Squares

Happy Saturday!  I took pictures of these lovely lemon squares on Thursday, but could not bring myself to post a dessert on Good Friday.  Made with real lemons, these lemon squares are a brightly colored departure from the usual brownies and chocolate chip cookies.  The tart lemon filling complements the crisp, buttery crust.  Makes 9 large or 16 small squares.

 

Ingredients:

Crust:

1 cup flour
1/2 cup (1 stick) softened butter
1/4 cup confectioners (powdered) sugar

Filling
1 cup sugar
1/4 cup fresh lemon juice (from 2 lemons)
1 tsp. lemon zest
2 Tbs.flour
2 eggs

1/2 tsp. baking powder

Directions:

Preheat the oven to 350.  In a medium bowl, mix together crust ingredients.  Stir until the mixture forms a dough-like texture, and you can form a ball with in. 

Pat the dough into the bottom and about 1 inch up the sides of an ungreased 8 by 8 inch square pan.  Bake the crust at 350 for about 20 minutes.

While the crust is baking, mix the filling.  Beat eggs with sugar until they become a pale, fluffy yellow.  Add flour and baking powder, and continue to stir.  Add lemon juice and zest, and stir for about 1 more minute.
Pour filling onto the hot crust.

Bake at 350 for about 25 more minutes, or until the top is slightly browned.  Allow to cool for 1 to 2 hours, then cut into squares and serve.  Unlike with most bar cookies, I actually prefer the edge or corner pieces of these!