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I am the tenth, and youngest, child in my family. When I got married, the women in my family gave me a gift of a binder filled with their favourite recipes; each one is handwritten on a card, and separated into categories like "Casseroles" and "Cakes/Cookies/Pies". They are of the tried-and-true variety and part of my earliest memories. Deviled eggs at cookouts, Parker House rolls for Thanksgiving, Congo Bars after school, Baked Eggs for Easter brunch...it's impossible to separate the memories from the menus.
Some of the recipes are named for their creators (Boozie's Apple Cake), some are remnants of dinner parties past (English Muffin Appetizers), and some are imbedded in the history of New England (Anadama bread), but all are part of the very fabric of our family life. The binder took up residence on my "favourites" shelf that year (in fact, is was my very first favourite cookbook), and has never sat there for longer than a week without being used.
It's been a part of seven different homes and has crossed a couple of oceans; it started out by teaching two newlyweds how to cook and graduated to keeping a family well-fed. It was made with love, and a little bit of that love has gone into every dish and meal we've made from it ever since.
My oldest brother's only child is getting married in September. She is a wonderful woman, intelligent and talented, and her fiance is a gem as well. He is in the military, and after the wedding they will head for the first of many posts to come. Incredible adventures await, to be sure, but I know from experience that there will be tough times as well. I'm going to put together a cookbook for her to take with her on her journeys, one that has its roots in that binder that I received so many years ago. It will be printed and bound, and will include food photos, family photos and anecdotes in additional to the recipes. My hope is that it will be a warm reminder of the love and thoughts that are with her always- from so many people- across generations, time and distance. If she learns a little bit about cooking and baking along the way, well I guess that's good, too.
Lemon Squares were the first up on my list to make and photograph for the book, which thrilled my husband as they are his all-time favourites. This is my mum's recipe, and a perennial favourite at family get-togethers. The crust is tender and rich, quite similar to shortbread in texture, but holds up well without crumbling. The filling has a vibrant lemon taste with just the right amount of sweetness to balance it. It will be the first entry in the chapter on desserts, to my niece from her Nana.
LEMON SQUARES
CRUST
2 cups FLOUR
1/2 cup sifted CONFECTIONERS' SUGAR
1 cup (2 sticks) BUTTER, frozen
FILLING
4 EGGS, beaten
2 cups SUGAR
1/3 cup LEMON JUICE
2 teaspoons LEMON ZEST
1/4 cup FLOUR
1/2 teaspoon BAKING POWDER
CONFECTIONERS' SUGAR, for dusting
FOR THE CRUST:
Adjust oven rack to middle position; heat oven to 350 degrees. Lightly butter a 9 x 13-inch baking dish and line with parchment paper.
Whisk the dry ingredients together in a large bowl. Grate the frozen butter (using the large holes of a box grater) into the dry mixture. Toss the butter pieces to coat, then rub the pieces between your fingers for a minute, until the flour turns coarse. Pour the mixture into the lined pan and press firmly with your fingers to form an even crust. Bake for 20-25 minutes, or until golden brown.
FOR THE FILLING:
Whisk eggs, sugar, flour and baking powder together in a medium bowl. Add the lemon juice and zest and stir well. Pour mixture into the pan on top of the warm crust.
Bake for 20 minutes, or until the filling feels firm when touched lightly. Transfer the pan to a wire rack and cool for 30 minutes. Grasp the parchment and carefully lift the bars onto a cutting board. Cut into serving size squares or bars, wiping your knife clean between cuts if necessary. Sieve confectioners' sugar over bars and serve.
OH I LOVE Lemon Squares. My mom gave me the same recipe. I don't make them as often as I should!!
Oh, BTW, Hello!!!! Michele sent me!
Posted by: Sarah | March 01, 2005 at 10:54 PM
Oh wow! Those look too fabulous!! Gotta go get me some lemons...
And I really love the idea of making and giving a cookbook of tried & tested recipes as a gift.
Posted by: Jeanne | March 02, 2005 at 12:40 PM
Hello everyone and thank you so much for all of your wonderful comments. It's been an incredible couple of days, and I don't think I'll be coming down from this cloud for quite awhile!
All the best,
Posted by: Moira | March 02, 2005 at 01:12 PM
These look sublime. If you're a lover of lemon squares, a great recipe to try is Rose Levy Beranbaum's The Ultimate Lemon Butter Bar, in the book Rose's Christmas Cookies. There's also an orange-chocolate variation that I've got to try one of these days.
Posted by: Julie | March 04, 2005 at 11:50 PM
Great pictures! I got hungry just looking at them.
Posted by: Barbara | March 05, 2005 at 11:30 AM
Hi Julie...I've just *got* to get some of her books! The orange-chocolate variation sounds divine.
Hi Barbara...thank you!
Posted by: Moira | March 05, 2005 at 06:59 PM
Moira...I don't even know you but I could HUG you!! I have been on a mission to find an outstanding, to-die-for lemon bar recipe. And THIS.IS.IT. I am NOT kidding. Hubby is gone for the weekend and I spent most of the day trying various recipes (4, to be exact). Your's was the third one. My search is over. They are absolutely heavenly.
Question #1: Do you think a food processor with frozen butter would do the same job as grating? I'm just a wimp. I got tired grating the butter. (It's still worth it!)
Question #2: Have you tried freezing these? I'm sure they aren't nearly as heavenly as 30 minutes out of the oven, but I'm hoping they will freeze and still be the best darn lemon bars ever.
THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU!
Posted by: SallyD | June 12, 2005 at 12:01 AM
Hi Sally...how very sweet of you to stop back and leave such a lovely comment! I'm just thrilled that you were happy with the results and that your search is over...yay!
About the food processor, I think the blade would provide too much heat on the cold butter, so (sadly) I think you'll have to muddle through the grating to get a good result. I don't have a food processor myself, but I think I recall a blurb in 'Cook's Illustrated' about this very subject. Please let me know if you find out otherwise!
About freezing, I haven't ever tried it, but I honestly think the filling would suffer. It's a bit like lemon curd, so I think it might become grainy. Again, let me know if you experiment and it works out.
Thanks again for your kind words...
Posted by: Moira | June 12, 2005 at 05:20 PM
I'm cooking/baking/freezing for the first two weekends in July. We're having 8-10 guys come to help frame/roof our house. Because I'm in "stocking up" mode, I froze the batch I made yesterday. We tried one of them tonight and they're still the best darn lemon bars evah! They didn't get grainy (at least not yet). But they're definitely the best when they're fresh. I'm going to go ahead and freeze them. It's better than store bought. In the future, they will be made fresh and eaten immediately!
I don't suppose you have a brownie recipe that's this good, do you? (I *had* to ask!)
Posted by: SallyD | June 13, 2005 at 12:41 AM
Hi Sally...I'm so glad freezing the bars worked for you! I don't think they would get grainy that quickly, but let me know if that's still the case in a couple of weeks. Good luck with the stocking up for the roofers...I don't envy you one bit!
I *do* have a fab brownie recipe, which I need to get ready for my niece's cookbook, so I'll post about it in the next couple of weeks or so. It's dead simple, too- always a nice quality in a prospective recipe, right?
Posted by: Moira | June 14, 2005 at 10:18 AM
Hmmmm.... I'm really not such a great cook. I don't know much about the nuances of freezing lemon bars (or anything else that isn't written down in a recipe). I'm crossing my fingers those bars will be OK. Maybe I'll just have to sample them in 2 weeks and see how they're doing. :-) If I have to, I'll make more just before the event.
I'm looking forward to the brownie recipe! And easy is always good.
Posted by: SallyD | June 14, 2005 at 01:13 PM
Hi Sally...I googled it, and www.krusteaz.com said:
'The baked bars will freeze nicely for up to 2 weeks in a sealed, airtight container. Allow four hours to thaw to room temperature. Thaw completely before dusting with powdered sugar.'
Now, they are referring to their box mix, but I'd imagine that they're not so dissimilar to my recipe. *Definitely* let me know what your bars are like in two weeks!
Posted by: Moira | June 14, 2005 at 02:53 PM
It's me again.... I have one of those vacuum sealer devices. I have the lemon bars in a shallow tupperware (no lid) and vacuum sealed. I'm hoping that will help extend the "freezer life". However, I was planning on using them more than 2 weeks out. I may have to plan on making a couple of fresh batches before that weekend. Thanks for the info.
Posted by: SallyD | June 15, 2005 at 08:35 AM
My God, I've never seen such overwhelming and enthusiastic commenting on anything on any food blog I think..so I just had to try these lemon squares. I made them yesterday and they are absolutely FANTASTIC!!
Dear Moira, congratulations to you site, it has become one of my favorites. Such a style, kindness, sophistication shining trough the words..I love it. Please more entries!!
Posted by: zsofia | July 01, 2005 at 03:11 AM
Hi zsofia...thank you so much! It's really one of the most fantastic things about food blogging, that you can share recipes that you love so that other people can love them, too! Thank you for your very sweet words as well. I'm struggling with posting right now, but I'm going to try to get back on track soon.
Cheers,
Posted by: Moira | July 11, 2005 at 07:31 AM
Greetings again Moira! We made it through the roof-raising weekend unscathed. Thank goodness! No injuries, not even a sunburn. I wanted to let you know that for the most part, the lemon bars survived freezing. If I really paid attention, I could detect some graininess, but the flavor was still outstanding. Everyone complained when I set them out because they'd have two (or three) and feel stuffed, but they loved them. In the future though, I will prepare them right before eating to maximize the experience. Fresh is much, much better than frozen, but frozen was still better than any lemon bar I've had before.
I'm waiting oh so patiently for the brownie recipe ;-) It sounds like you're very busy right now, but I will be checking in for the that recipe periodically. If it's anything like these lemon bars, it will be worth waiting for. Thanks again for your blog. It's a treasure!
Sally
Posted by: SallyD | July 19, 2005 at 07:18 PM
Hi Sally...YAY! I'm so glad they survived freezing and were a hit! I swear, I'm going to post about the brownies soon, and hopefully you'll like those just as much.
Thanks for checking back and updating me on the bars, and I hope you're having a great summer. I really appreciate your kind comments.
Cheers,
Posted by: Moira | July 31, 2005 at 11:25 AM
Hey Moira, I've just got back from a weekend of eating and partying for my dad's 60th bday. I made yr lemon squares for Sunday, recovery day after the big party, and everyone loved them!! Everyone commented on the delicious balance of flavours and textures. I'm about to have one for breakfast with a cup of tea. Thanks so much for posting this lovely recipe. One question - are you supposed to make the crust go up the sides of the tin, or do you just press it into the base? I was a bit nervous working with the pastry, think I need to work a little faster next time. I can't wait to try the cookies next!!
Posted by: kookiegoddess | August 15, 2005 at 04:44 AM
Hi kookiegoddess...alright, another lemon bar lover! I'm glad they worked out so well for you and were such a hit. About the crust- no, just press it into the base...no need to go up the sides. Thanks for letting me know how they worked out!
Posted by: Moira | August 16, 2005 at 06:21 PM
Hi! First time visitor sent by Michele. Great stuff! Who needs Emeril Lagasse anymore when we have your site! Stop by and say hello anytime!
Posted by: MICHAEL MANNING | August 23, 2005 at 09:29 PM
i'm staring at your pictures and i'm FRIKKEN HUNGRY AND CRAVING FOR ONE!...
GAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Posted by: Michellee | October 20, 2005 at 11:05 AM
I just tried this and its the best lemon bar yet, Thank you so much. My 18 year old thinks this must have taken ages to make ( lol little does she know its so easy )and she loves them.
Thanks again
Carol
Posted by: Carol Jones | June 19, 2006 at 10:18 PM
Your story made me cry...thanks a lot!
;-)
Posted by: Dawn | June 28, 2006 at 05:34 PM
Somehow after googling lemon bars I found this site. I tried the recipe and it will now be THE only lemon bar recipe for me!
I had a fabulous lemon bar about 15 years ago in a little antique shop in Edmond, OK. and have tried many times to no avail to remake them with new recipes. These are it!!
I did undercook them a little and they were pudding-ish in the middle ( but the top was browning)=) and I didnt want to overcook! The edges were perfection.Should a knife in the middle come out clean?
Anyway thanks for the recipe, the camera recommendation- fabulous pictures and such a clever website...ps who's Michelle? =)
Posted by: Shelly M | July 03, 2006 at 06:48 PM