Perfect lemon bars

24 Servings

Ingredients

Quantity Ingredient
1¼ cup All-purpose flour
⅔ cup Confectioner's sugar; plus extra to decorate finished bars
¼ cup Cornstarch
¾ teaspoon Salt
12 tablespoons Unsalted butter;, (1-1/2 sticks) at very cool room temperature, cut into 1-inch pieces
4 larges Eggs; beaten lightly
1⅓ cup Granulated sugar
3 tablespoons All-purpose flour
2 teaspoons Finely grated lemon zest; from two large lemons
⅓ cup Fresh lemon juice; strained
⅓ cup Whole milk
⅛ teaspoon Salt

Directions

CRUST

LEMON FILLING

Recipe By : Susan Logozzo, in Cook's Illustrated Magazine May/June 1998 1. For the crust: Adjust oven rack to middle position and heat oven to 350 degrees. Lightly butter a I 3-by-9-inch baking dish and line with one sheet parchment or wax paper. Dot paper with butter, then lav second sheet crosswise over it (see illustration II above).

2. Pulse flour, confectioners' sugar, cornstarch, and salt in food processor workbowl fitted with steel blade. Add butter and process to blend, 8 to I 0 seconds, then pulse until mixture is pale yellow and resembles coarse meal, about three 1 -second bursts. (To do this by hand, mix flour, confectioners' sugar, cornstarch, and salt in medium bowl.

Freeze butter and grate it on large holes of box grater into flour mixture.

Toss butter pieces to coat. Rub pieces between your fingers for a minute, until flour turns pale yellow and coarse.) Sprinkle mixture into lined pan and, following illustration 2, press firmly with fingers into even, ¼-inch layer over entire pan bottom and about ½ inch up sides.

Refrigerate for 30 minutes, then bake until golden brown, about 20 minutes.

3. For the filling: Meanwhile, whisk eggs, sugar, and flour in medium bowl, then stir in lemon juice, milk, and salt to blend well.

4. To finish the bars.- Reduce oven temperature to 325 degrees. Stir filling mixture to rcblend; pour into warm crust. Bake until filling feels firm when touched lightly, about 20 minutes. Transfer pan to wire rack; cool to near room temperature, at least 30 minutes. Following illustrations 3 and 4, above, transfer to cutting board, fold paper down, and cut into serving- size bars, "wiping knife or pizza cutter clean between cuts, as necessary. Sieve confectioners' sugar over bars, if desired. Lemon bars made with extra egg yolks and relatively little filling were flat and edgy; our final recipe has the tender but firm texture we liked best; bars made with extra filling and no starch oozed when cut; those made with extra lemon but no milk had an unpleasantly sticky texture.

Nutritional information: 15⅗ calories; 7.0g fat; 1.8g protein; 21.9g carbohydrates; 47mg cholesterol; 90mg sodium. Diabetic exchanges: ½ grain/starch; 1-½ fat; 1 other carbohydrates.

Posted to MM-Recipes Digest by SuenDoug@... on May 27, 1998

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