Valentine's Day & Tangy Delicious Lemon Bars

New: Valentine's Day & Tangy Delicious Lemon Bars

What's up: Homemade Bacon and Egg McMuffin, Fluffy Buttermilk Pancakes

Growing up, Valentine’s Day was always one of my favourite holidays. The best part was always checking my Valentine’s basket at the end of the day to see how many Valentine’s cards I’d received from my classmates, and even better, how many candies I’d collected over the week. Cinnamon hearts, Conversation hearts, Hershey’s Kisses, Cherry JuJubes, chocolate hearts, strawberry marshmallows, every pink red and white candy available. Only twice a year did I receive this much candy, and boy did I love it. Despite all the candy however, nothing ever beat that awesome mom who brought in Valentine’s cupcakes or heart-shaped cookies. Not the overly frosted, solid, store-bought ones, but the nice, fluffy cupcakes with the smooth, creamy strawberry frosting and the colourful sprinkles smattered on top. Delicious. 

Perfect lemons for the perfect lemon bars

Lemon bars are the perfect treat for any occasion.

However, this year, we are aiming to please a slightly more mature crowd, so this Valentine’s day, we have some spectacularly sweet and sour lemon bars. With that deliciously buttery crust and tart but satisfying tang, nothing beats a good old fashion lemon bar. 

Tangy and sweet old fashioned lemon bars

This lemon bar recipe has a good balance of sweet and sour with a nice solid, buttery crust. A little extra sweetness, sprinkle a generous dusting of icing sugar. 

I got this recipe from Loveveggiesandyoga.

Tangy Lemon Bars

Makes: 1 8x8-inch square
Oven: 350F
Rating: 3/5

Ingredients

Shortbread Crust

• 1/2 cup butter 
• 1 cup all purpose flour 
• 1/4 cup confectioner’s sugar 
• 1 tsp cornstarch (add more for a softer crust)

Lemon Filling

• 2 eggs 
• 1 cup granulated sugar 
• 1/2 cup lemon juice (about 2 lemons) 
• 2 tbsp milk 
• 2 tbsp flour 
• 2 tsp lemon zest

Crust preparation 

1. Preheat your oven to 350F. 
2. Line an 8x8-inch pan with parchment paper or grease and flour it. 
3. Mix together flour, confectioner’s sugar, corn starch. 
4. Cut butter into 1/2 inch pieces and rub into flour mixture. Combine until a grainy, crumbly mixture forms. 
5. Press the flour-butter mixture firmly into the pan, then prick a few dozen holes or make slits in the crust. 
6. Once the oven is ready, pop the crust into the oven for about 15 minutes or until it starts to turn a golden brown colour. 

Filling preparation

1. As the crust is baking, start making your delicious lemon filling. Beat together your eggs, sugar, lemon juice, milk, vanilla. (Watch out for those lemon seeds!) 
2. Then add the flour and lemon zest. Mix until well combined. 
3. Once the crust is ready, pour in the lemon filling and pop it back into the oven for another 15 minutes or until the filling is firmer and a light golden brown on the top. 
4. When your lemon bars have cooled, pop them in the fridge for a few hours to firm up. 
5. Sprinkle with a touch of confectioner’s sugar for a little extra sweetness

Happy Valentine's day and enjoy!

Need some last restaurant minute ideas on where to take your hunnie?

Enjoy your tasty, tangy lemon bar!