zesty lemon bars

So I am going to tell you right now, these Lemon Bars are A.M.A.Z.I.N.G!

They have that perfect balance of sweet and tart, that deliver a zesty lemon flavor sent from 

lemon heaven!

I adapted this recipe from my Hubby's family cookbook. I believe this recipe itself was written by his Great Grandma, kind of awesome in itself!

I switched it up a bit and opted for butter instead of margarine, and used fresh lemon juice instead of the bottle. And while I had a lemon, why not kick it up a bit and throw in a little zest!

Don't want to TOOT my own horn or anything, but they turned out better than I expected...TOOT TOOT!!

Zesty Lemon Bars

1 cup sifted flour

1/4 cup powdered sugar

1/2 cup butter (1 stick); room temp.

3 eggs

1 cup sugar

2 tbsp flour

1/2 tsp baking powder

Zest from an entire lemon

Juice from 1 whole lemon 

Icing

1 cup powdered sugar

8 tsp lemon zest

4 tbsp lemon juice

*I just used another whole lemon for the icing too, it was perfect!*

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F

Combined the first 3 ingredients in a mixer until it forms small clumps and is well mixed. Coat a 9-in square pan with non-stick spray, press flour mixture into pan firmly and evenly. Bake for about 15 minutes. While baking, mix the eggs, sugar, flour, baking powder, lemon zest and juice. Pour mixture over the baked crust in the pan. Return to oven and bake for 25 minutes longer. Place on wire rack, and let cool completely before icing.

 Blend the powdered sugar, lemon zest and juice until smooth. Spread over the top of the cooled lemon bars and let sit for about an hour. 

 So the final step in this was to get the Hubby's approval....

And I quote:

"Wow, these taste as good as Grandma's."

That folks is what I call WINNING!