A Summer Dessert Part 2

Lemons are the epitome of summer fruit. Chilled lemonade, lemon meringue pie, lemon cake--all summertime treats that speak of long days, picnics, and hot weather. So it should be no surprise that my other proposed "perfect" summer dessert is also from the lemon family: lemon bars. These are an absolutely scrumptious sweet, and they are not that difficult to make. This particular recipe results in a bar with a crust that's like a buttery version of shortbread and a lemon filling that's similar to a rich lemon curd. Topped with a little powdered sugar, it's a perfect picnic dessert to enjoy with a glass of cold iced tea. And by the way, yes it does matter which lemons you use. More about that after the recipe.

What you'll need:
2 c. flour
1/2 c. powdered sugar
2 Tbs. corn starch
1/4 tsp. salt
3/4 c. butter
4 eggs
1 1/2 c. granulated sugar
3 Tbs. flour
1 tsp. lemon zest
3/4 c. lemon juice
1/4 c. half and half
powdered sugar for dusting

What you'll need to do:
1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease a 13x9-in pan (a Pyrex pan works very well if you have it).
2. In a medium bowl, add the 2 cups of flour, powdered sugar, corn starch, and salt. Quickly mix together. Add the butter and combine with the flour mixture with either a pastry blender or your fingers. Mixture should resemble breadcrumbs.
3. Press flour mixture firmly into the bottom of the prepared pan. Bake about 20 minutes or until edges start to become golden.
4. As the crust is baking, mix together the eggs, granulated sugar, the 3 tablespoons of flour, the lemon zest, lemon juice, and the half and half.
5. After the crust has finished baking, pour the lemon mixture over the hot crust. Bake for 15 to 20 minutes or until the center is set (it won't wiggle when you gently shake the pan).
6. Remove from the oven and set on a wire rack to cool completely in the pan. After the bars have cooled, cut into squares and dust with powdered sugar. Store in the fridge and serve chilled.

As I mentioned above, it really does matter what kind of lemons you use. For anything with a lemon-type filling (lemon meringue pie, lemon bars, etc.) I always use Meyer lemons. This particular type of lemon has a juice that is sweeter than other lemons (others types I have found to be VERY bitter). Meyers also have the good fortune to be very juicy. For this recipe, I only needed 3 large Meyer lemons off of my mother's tree. Using other types of lemons would likely require more of them to make the 3/4 cup of necessary lemon juice. Meyer lemon skin can be used for the zest in this recipe (and when I made it, I did), but there is another kind of lemon Mom has that has great skin for zest--it's sturdier and more tart than that of the Meyers. Sadly, I don't know the specific name for it. All I can say is that it has a thicker skin and is larger in size than the Meyers.

Enjoy your summer desserts!