Meyer Lemon
intro
Buttery shortbread crust topped with tangy-sweet, floral Meyer lemon filling, a bright sunny dessert showcasing the citrus’s signature mild, aromatic flavor.
Ingredients
Steps
Prep oven and pan
Adjust your oven rack to the middle position, then preheat the oven to 175°C (350°F). Line a 20cm (8-inch) square baking pan with parchment paper, leaving a 5cm (2-inch) overhang on two opposite sides for easy bar removal later. Lightly grease the exposed metal sides of the pan with a tiny pinch of butter to prevent sticking.
Mix shortbread crust
In a medium mixing bowl, stir together 160g all-purpose flour, 50g powdered sugar, and 1/8 tsp of the fine sea salt until fully combined. Pour in 113g melted unsalted butter, stirring until a crumbly, uniform dough forms. Press the dough firmly and evenly across the bottom of the prepared pan to create a compact 0.5cm (1/4-inch) thick base.
Parbake shortbread base
Place the pan with the pressed crust in the preheated oven, baking for 18-20 minutes until the crust edges are light golden brown and the surface is fully set. Remove the pan from the oven, setting it on a wire rack to cool slightly while you make the filling; leave the oven turned on at 175°C (350°F).
Whisk lemon filling
First, finely grate 2 tbsp of zest from the 4 Meyer lemons, then squeeze the lemons and strain the juice to collect 120ml (1/2 cup), discarding any seeds or thick pulp bits. In a large mixing bowl, whisk 3 room-temperature eggs, 200g granulated sugar, remaining 1/8 tsp sea salt, and Meyer lemon zest until smooth. Whisk in the strained lemon juice and 5ml vanilla extract, then sift in 30g all-purpose flour, whisking until no lumps remain.
Bake filled bars
Pour the smooth lemon filling directly over the warm parbaked shortbread crust, tilting the pan gently to spread the filling in an even layer. Return the pan to the middle oven rack, baking for 22-25 minutes until the filling is fully set around the edges and has only a slight, soft jiggle in the very center (it will set completely as it cools).
Cool and chill bars
Remove the baked pan from the oven, setting it on a wire rack to cool fully to room temperature (about 1 hour), then transfer the pan to the refrigerator to chill for a minimum of 1 hour until the filling is completely firm. Use the parchment overhang to lift the entire uncut block of bars out of the pan onto a cutting board.
Cut and garnish to serve
Trim off any uneven, crusty edges if desired, then cut the block into 8 equal rectangular bars. Lightly dust the top of each bar with the optional 15g of powdered sugar right before serving to keep the sugar from dissolving into the moist filling surface.
Tips
2.Use room-temperature eggs for the filling to prevent lumps and ensure a silky, evenly set curd layer, as cold eggs can seize when mixed with sugar and warm crust.
3.For perfectly clean, neat cuts, wipe your knife blade with a warm, damp paper towel between each slice to avoid smudging soft lemon filling across the bar tops.
OMG these Meyer lemon bars are *chef’s kiss*!!! I brought them to my neighborhood potluck last weekend and every single person asked me for the recipe. The buttery shortbread crust is so perfectly crumbly, not too sweet, and the lemon filling is bright and tangy without making your face pucker. My 8 year old said they’re better than the ones we get at our local bakery! Total game changer for spring dessert spreads. 10/10 will make again for Easter dinner.
Wow, these were way easier to make than I thought they’d be for how fancy they taste! I made a batch on Sunday for meal prep snacks for the work week, and they held up perfectly in the fridge. The only tweak I made was adding a tiny extra dusting of powdered sugar on top right before serving. Definitely adding this to my regular rotation—so buttery, so bright, perfect pick-me-up on gray work days.
Made these for my book club meeting last night and they were gone in 10 minutes flat! I was worried the 2 hour chill time would be a hassle, but I just popped them in the fridge right after baking while I ran to pick up my dry cleaning and grab groceries, and they were perfectly set by the time I got home. The buttery crust is so rich it tastes like the fancy shortbread I buy at the farmers market, and the lemon filling is perfectly balanced—no weird artificial tang like some lemon bar recipes I’ve tried before. SO good. Only knocking one star because I wish I’d doubled the recipe, I barely got a single bite before they were all gone!
Super solid recipe, even for someone like me who burns 90% of the baked goods I attempt. The instructions were super straightforward, no fancy mixers or weird equipment required, and the 55 minute cook time was totally accurate. Quick heads up for other new bakers: make sure you line your pan with enough parchment paper overhang to lift the bars out easily! I skimped on mine and the edges stuck a little, oops. Still tasted amazing though—my roommates devoured half the pan before I even finished snapping a pic for my Instagram.
Quick question for folks who’ve made these—am I the only person who ended up with a slightly runny filling? I followed the recipe measurements exactly, baked for the full 55 minutes, let them chill in the fridge for the full 2 hours, and when I cut into them the filling oozed out the sides a little. The flavor was absolutely 10/10, that buttery crust is unreal, but the texture was way looser than I expected. Any tips for next time I make them?