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Our classic homemade Lemon Bars recipe has a buttery shortbread crust and creamy lemon curd filling that's simple enough for beginners and impossible to eat just one of!
My version of perfect Lemon Bars
Lemon Bars have been a staple in my kitchen for years, and my mom made them all the time growing up. We never get tired of making them! I tested and tweaked this recipe until I had what I believe is the perfect ratio of thick, chewy crust to lemon filling. Trust me, once you try these, every other lemon square recipe will pale in comparison.
Lemon bars are a great dessert to make 1-2 days in advance, stored in the fridge.
If you love this bar recipe, try these Lemon Brownies, Key Lime Pie Bars, Lemon Tiramisu, and Lemon Cream Pie!
How to make Lemon Bars:
Shortbread Crust: Cream together the butter and powdered sugar with a hand mixer or stand mixer. Add the flour and salt then mix on low speed, just until combined. Press dough evenly into the bottom of an 8″ pan with parchment paper, or a greased dish. Bake for 10 minutes then take out of the oven and set aside while you make the lemon filling.
Make Filling: Mix the lemon zest and sugar in a mixing bowl then add the lemon juice, flour, baking powder, and eggs. Mix until the sugar is dissolved and the mixture is well combined. Pour mixture over crust.
Bake at 350°F for 35-40 more minutes, or until the filling has set. Remove from the oven then allow to cool completely.
Serve: For truly the best lemon bars, dust the top of these homemade lemon bars evenly with powdered sugar before cutting and serving. Keep any leftovers in the refrigerator.
Lemon Squares Recipe
Ingredients
Shortbread Crust:
- 1/2 cup butter, , room temp
- 1/4 cup powdered sugar
- 1 cup all-purpose flour
- dash of salt
Lemon Filling:
- 2 large lemons, , zested
- 2 cups granulated sugar
- 1/3 cup fresh lemon juice
- 1/3 cup all-purpose flour
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- 4 large eggs
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Line the bottom of an 8'' pan with parchment paper, or grease with cooking spray and set aside.
- Shortbread Crust: In a mixing bowl or the bowl of a stand mixer, cream together the butter and powdered sugar. Add the flour and salt and mix on low speed, just until combined.½ cup butter, ¼ cup powdered sugar, 1 cup all-purpose flour, dash of salt
- Bake Crust: Press the dough evenly into the bottom of the prepared dish. Bake for 10 minutes. Remove from oven and set aside.
- Lemon filling: Mix lemon zest and sugar in a mixing bowl. Add the lemon juice, flour, baking powder, and eggs. Mix until well combined and the sugar is dissolved. Pour mixture over the baked crust.2 large lemons, 2 cups granulated sugar, ⅓ cup fresh lemon juice, ⅓ cup all-purpose flour, 1 teaspoon baking powder, 4 large eggs
- Bake lemon bars at 350 degrees F for 35-40 more minutes, or until the filling has set. Remove from oven and allow to cool completely.
- Dust with powdered sugar before cutting and serving. Store lemon bars in the refrigerator.
Notes
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
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I originally shared this recipe January 2019. Updated March 2024 and February 2026.
Hi Lauren. This was a favorite in our family. My mom use to make them. Somehow I have lost the recipe. I have tried others & either too much lemon or the lemon layer doesn’t separate & set as in your pic. Do you cool your crust before adding the lemon mixture? Does that matter? Thank you very much for your help. I want to try these.
Very nice. A bit to sweet for my kind of lemon bar but the texture was wonderful. Thank you.
Oh my gosh. These are amazing! I didn’t have enough lemon juice on hand so I replaced the remainder with lime juice and I used a 9×9 metal pan instead and shortened the cooking times. It was a hit! For my first adventure in baking or pastry making, I would say this was a success. Looking forward to more great recipes.
Delicious! If we could give half stars we would have given it a 4.5.
If they are so great why the need for a half star? Just rate them a 5! This recipe is well deserving of a 10!
How far in advance can the lemon bars be made?
The day before works great.
This was so good that I made it again – this time a double recipe. It works better as two single recipes as the center of the huge pan didn’t “fluff”. But we eat these so fast I want to make a huge pile so the Cook actually gets one!
Thanks for the recipe.
Thanks Ellen–I’m so glad they’re a hit with your family 🙂
This website is gorgeous. Thank you!
This looks like the silver palate recipe I made over 25 years ago. They are the only ones that as far as o know used powdered sugar in the crust.
They are the best lemon bars I ever tasted.
This was absolutely brilliant! Incredibly easy to make and loved by everyone! So much so, that I had to make another batch two days later!
What a compliment! I’m so happy everyone liked them so much. Thank you for coming back to comment.
You can’t beat a classic like this, especially for a lemon lover like me!