I had a bunch of lemons and limes left over from our dinner party last weekend, so instead of watching them go bad I decided to use them up by making Lemon Bars.
This recipe is from the Tartine cookbook by Elisabeth Preuitt and Chad Robertson, owners of the lovely Tartine bakery and Bar Tartine restaurant here in San Francisco. It's the kind of place that people from all over rave about, and will stand in line for no matter what the weather or season, and with good reason - the baked goods are fantastic.
The crust on these lemon bars is what sets them apart - as the title indicates, it's like a crisp shortbread cookie with lots and lots of butter, that you bake until it is browned and flaky. I had problems with it sticking to my baking pan, so next time I will use a non-stick pan or line it with parchment paper. Nonetheless, these were wonderful, with a pleasingly tart curd, and I love the suggestion on the recipe page that you can make the curd with a fresh Bergamot orange - that would be amazing. The recipe calls for just lemons, but since I had some of each I just used both lemons and limes. I did not have pine nuts in my pantry, but would definitely give that a try next time.
It looks like a lot of directions, but it's actually very simple.
Lemon Bars on Brown Butter Shortbread
Crust:
- 1/2 C. confectioners' sugar
- 1 1/2 C. all purpose flour
- 3/4 C. unsalted butter, at room temperature
- 1/2 C. pine nuts (optional)
Filling:
- 1/2 C. all purpose flour
- 2 1/4 C. sugar
- 1 C. + 2 T. Lemon Juice (or mix of citrus)
- Lemon Zest, grated, from 1 small lemon
- 6 large whole eggs
- 1 large egg yolk
- pinch of salt
- Confectioners' sugar, for topping
Preheat oven to 350. Butter a 9 X 13 in. baking pan
To make the crust, sift the confectioners' sugar into the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment. Add the flour and stir to mix.
Add the butter and pine nuts (if using) and beat on low speed just until a smooth dough forms.
Transfer the dough to the prepared pan and press evenly into the bottom and 1/2" up the sides of the pan. It should be about 1/4" thick. To help even out the crust, use the flat bottom of any type of cup, pressing down firmly. Line the crust with parchment paper and fill with pie weights (Note: I actually skipped this step and it worked fine - who has pie weights?) Bake the crust until it colors evenly to a deep golden brown, 25 - 35 min. Rotate the pan 180 degrees if the crust appears to be baking unevenly.
While the crust is baking, make the filling: Sift the flour into a mixing bowl.
Add the sugar and whisk until blended.
Add the lemon juice and zest and stir to dissolve the sugar.
In a separate mixing bowl, whisk the whole eggs and egg yolks with the salt.
Add the eggs to the lemon juice mixture and whisk until well mixed.
When the crust is ready, pull out the oven rack holding the crust and pour the filling directly into the hot pan (it's easiest to pour the custard into the pan if the pan is in the oven).
Reduce the oven temperature to 300 and bake just until the center of the custard is no longer wobbly, 30 - 40 min.
Let cool completely on a wire rack, then cover and chill well before cutting into 12 squares with a sharp knife.
Dust the tops of the squares with confectioners' sugar.
