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Home » Brownies & Bars » Easy Lemon Bars

Easy Lemon Bars

July 20, 2019 By Maria 4 Comments

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Easy lemon bars have a tart and irresistible lemon filling layered on top of a delicious and simple graham cracker crust.  These bars are a crowd pleaser and perfect for any occasion! 

Easy Lemon Bars-4

Nothing hits the spot like a chilled, tart lemon bar on a hot summer day.  The creamy filling on top of a slightly sweet graham cracker crust is heavenly.  And the addition of fresh raspberries mixed with a hint of lemon is the perfect touch to these summer bars.   Our weekends are packed with BBQs and what better than to bring these easy lemon bars to share.

Easy Lemon Bars-1

How to make easy lemon bars

These easy lemon bars can be whipped up in no time.  First, I line a 8×8 inch square pan with parchment paper.  While the oven is preheating, I mix all the crust ingredients, layer the crust in the prepared baking dish and pop it into the oven for 10 minutes.

While the crust bakes, the filling can easily be prepped in no time.  It’s only a matter of whisking together all the ingredients.  So easy, right?  Pour it right on top of the slightly cooled filling and into the oven it goes.  Bake the bars for 15-17 minutes.  To check for doneness, slightly shake your baking pan to see if the center is set.

The last step involves prepping your raspberries, another simple step.  Combine all ingredients into a small bowl and roughly mash.  I usually allow the prepped berries to sit for about 15 minutes before spooning over the bars.  This allows for the raspberries to release some of their juices.

Easy Lemon Bars-2

4 ingredient lemon filling

Making the filling for these bars is super simple.  It only requires 4 ingredients.

  • Sweetened condensed milk.  This will sweeten the filling as well as add to the creaminess.
  • Egg yolks.  Thickens the lemon filling.
  • Fresh lemon juice.  Key ingredient to give you that delicious lemon flavor.
  • Lemon zest.  Gives these bars an extra pop of lemon flavor.

Easy Lemon Bars-5

More brownie and bar recipes

  • Blackberry bars
  • One bowl brownies
  • Speculoos blondies
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Easy Lemon Bars-4

Easy Lemon Bars


★★★★★

5 from 1 reviews

  • Author: Maria
  • Yield: 8-16 bars 1x
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Description

Easy lemon bars have a tart and irresistible lemon filling layered on top of a delicious and simple graham cracker crust.  These bars are a crowd pleaser and perfect for any occasion! 


Ingredients

Scale

For the crust

  • 1 1/2 cups (150 g) graham cracker crumbs
  • 1/4 cup (50 g) granulated sugar
  • 1/4 teaspoon salt
  • 5 tablespoons (70 g) unsalted butter, melted

For the filling

  • 1  (14 oz) can sweetened condensed milk
  • 5 large egg yolks
  • Zest of one lemon
  • 2/3 cup (160 ml) fresh lemon juice

For the raspberries

  • 6 oz container fresh raspberries
  • 2 teaspoons granulated sugar
  • 1 teaspoon lemon zest
  • Squeeze of fresh lemon juice

Instructions

  1. Preheat oven to 350°F/177°C.  Line an 8×8 inch square baking dish with parchment paper and set aside.

For the crust

  1. In a medium mixing bowl combine graham cracker crumbs, sugar, salt and melted butter until evenly mixed.  Press crumb mixture evenly into an 8-inch square pan.  Bake crust for 10 minutes.  Allow to cool while preparing filling.

For the filling

  1. In a medium bowl, add condensed milk and the yolks. Whisk together until combined.  Add the lemon zest and juice and mix well.  Pour mixture into pan.
  2. Bake for 15-17 minutes or until center is just set.
  3. Allow to cool to room temperature.
  4. Place in refrigerator to chill for at least 2 hours.  Cut into bars.

For the raspberries

  1. In a small bowl, combine raspberries, sugar, lemon juice and lemon zest. Roughly mash berries with a fork and set aside.  Allow to sit for 15 minutes.  Spoon over cut bars and serve immediately.
  • Category: Bars

Keywords: easy lemon bars, dessert, summer recipe

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Filed Under: Brownies & Bars

Previous Post: « Funfetti Cookies
Next Post: Baking 101: How to make Lemon Curd »

Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. LRS

    December 1, 2021 at 9:44 pm

    I made these bars and they were absolutely delicious. I had to combine lemon and lime juice in order to get enough juice for the recipe. That perhaps made the bars a little more tangy, but it was still delicious. I did not make the raspberries because we had a fruit salad that used up all my berries. Nevertheless, in the words of one of my guests, these bars are “to do for.” Utterly delicious and simple to make!!

    ★★★★★

    Reply
    • Maria

      December 2, 2021 at 4:34 am

      Thank you so much for your feedback! I’m thrilled to hear that you and your guests enjoyed the recipe! I’m glad you worked with what you had and loved the results 🙂 Happy Baking!

      Reply
  2. LRS

    December 1, 2021 at 9:45 pm

    Sorry, the quote should be “to die for.” But they’ll do for ya, too. 😉

    Reply
    • Maria

      December 2, 2021 at 4:35 am

      Hahaha! Makes more sense now 🙂

      Reply

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