Lemon Squares

What Are the Ingredients Used for Lemon Bars?

Our lemon bar dessert squares start with a flaky crust made with flour, butter, and powdered sugar.
Butter: The butter gets the credit for making the crust so deliciously tender.
Powdered Sugar: The powdered sugar adds just a hint of sweetness to pair well with the filling. Then the remaining powdered sugar gets sprinkled over the bars for a bakery-like finish!
Fresh Lemon: Fresh lemon zest and juice give the bars fresh lemony flavor and zing.
Granulated Sugar: Granulated sugar provides the balance of sweetness to the tartness of the lemon ingredients.
Eggs: Eggs add structure to the filling, making it lemon curd-like, while baking powder allows the filling to rise when baked.
Salt: A tiny amount of salt is added to balance all the flavors.

What is the Best Time to Make Lemon Bars?

Lemon squares are like a great pair of jeans…you can take them anywhere! From the paper bag lunch to a PTO meeting, an afternoon tea party or a holiday spread, lemon bars are welcomed at any event from casual to fancy. You can serve them straight out of the pan for a casual event or place them on a plate or tray.
Fancy Events: To serve lemon bars for a fancy event, consider placing individual bars in colorful paper baking cups used for muffins or cupcakes on a tray.
School Lunches: For lunch boxes, simply wrap a bar or two in plastic wrap and place on top of the other lunch items, so they will not get damaged in transit. What a yummy lunchtime treat!
Holiday Gatherings: If you’re serving lemon dessert squares for the holidays, you can serve them on their own (on a holiday tray or plate) or as part of a variety of bars on a tray.
Their sweet-tart flavor is a nice complement to other sweeter, heavier bars or cookies, like brownies or frosted sugar cookies. Need a gluten-free lemon bar option? Try our amazing gluten-free lemon squares. Want more great bar recipes? Try these recipes next.

How Should I Store Lemon Bars?

These amazing, fresh lemony bars are always a hit. If you have any leftovers, here’s how to store them, to enjoy their deliciousness another day! Fridge: Since lemon bar recipes are made with eggs, it is important to cover them in a single layer and refrigerate any remaining bars. You can eat them cold, right out of the fridge, if you like. Or, if you don’t like to eat cold bars, take them out about 15 minutes before serving. Bars can be stored up to 5 days, however the crust will become moist and less flaky over time. The flavor will still be as yummy, but the crust will just be softer.
Freezer: Lemon dessert squares should not be frozen, as the lemon curd-like filling will become watery and the crust will not be flaky when thawed .