Get the Recipe: Quick and Easy Lemon Squares
These easy lemon squares are made with simple ingredients and with a mix, pour and bake lemon filling.
Ingredients
Shortbread Base:
- 1 cup all purpose flour
- 1/4 cup confectioners' sugar
- 1/2 cup unsalted butter, at room temperature, cut into 8 pieces
- 1/8 tsp fine salt, omit if using salted butter
Lemon Filling:
- 1 1/2 cups white granulated sugar
- 1/3 cup + 1 Tablespoon all purpose flour
- 3 large eggs, at room temperature
- 1/4 cup fresh lemon juice
For topping after baking:
- Additional confectioners' sugar
Instructions
- Take your eggs and butter out of the fridge ahead of time, so they both come to room temperature before starting the recipe.
- Preheat oven to 350F (not fan-assisted), with rack in centre of the oven.
- Prepare an 8-inch square metal baking pan with parchment paper, covering bottom and sides and overhanging the sides to use as handles to remove from the pan later. Set aside. *For glass pans, reduce oven temperature by 25F.
- Prepare the Shortbread Base: Whisk together the flour, confectioners' sugar and salt. Add the cubed butter and cut into the flour mixture with a pastry cutter or just use your fingertips to rub it in to the flour. Pour into prepared baking pan and press firmly and evenly into the bottom. Bake in preheated oven for 15-18 minutes, or until set and just starting to colour. Remove from oven and let cool while you mix up the filling. (Leave oven on at 350F).
- Make the Lemon Filling: combine all the filling ingredients in a medium bowl and whisk together well until smooth. *Don't "whisk" too vigorously, but rather use the whisk like a spoon and stir the mixture. You don't want to whisk too much air into the batter.
- Pour filling over the baked crust and return to the oven. Bake until the filling is completely set and it doesn't jiggle at all when lightly tugging the pan, about 20-25 minutes. *Important that you test by jiggling the pan. If there is any jiggle at all, leave in the oven a few more minutes until there is no jiggle. In my oven, that is usually 23-25 minutes.
- Remove from oven and let cool completely in the pan. *I like to refrigerate for an hour or so for easiest slicing, but it is not necessary. Just be sure they are completely cool. Lift squares out of pan by lifting with the edges of the parchment paper. Use a large, sharp knife to slice into 9 squares. Sift top with confectioner's sugar just before serving. Store in the refrigerator or they also freeze well.
Notes
Tips!
- Need more lemon squares? Simply double all the ingredients and bake up in a 9x13-inch pan instead.
- I find that lining the sides and bottom of the pan with parchment paper not only makes it easier to remove the squares from the pan, but it keeps the sides of the squares from over-browning. I do recommend using parchment if you have it.
- If your lemon squares are runny, they weren't baked long enough. It's important that you test with a gentle tug on the pan and make sure that the filling doesn't jiggle at all before removing them from the oven. That said, all is not lost if your squares are runny. Simply enjoy them with a knife and fork, rather than as hand-held squares :)
- I like to refrigerate lemon squares before cutting, so once cooled and before dusting with icing sugar, I pop them into the fridge (in the pan) for an hour or so. Then I lift them out of the pan, cut them and dust them with icing sugar. I find they cut nice and neatly this way.
- Be sure to bake these squares until they don't jiggle at all when you give the pan a gentle tug. Be sure they are set right to the centre of the pan.
Serving: 1square, Calories: 346kcal, Carbohydrates: 56g, Protein: 5g, Fat: 12g, Saturated Fat: 7g, Trans Fat: 1g, Cholesterol: 89mg, Sodium: 58mg, Potassium: 60mg, Fiber: 1g, Sugar: 37g, Vitamin A: 406IU, Vitamin C: 3mg, Calcium: 17mg, Iron: 1mg
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