Sweet and Simple Lemon Bars

I am a lazy cook.

I try to channel my inner Thomas Keller, but in the end, the laziness wins out. I hate dirtying up the kitchen and despise washing dishes, so I try to use the least amount of bowls and utensils as possible. But then I realized that I could make something so scrumptious and so delicious that my husband would fall in love with me all over again and gladly clean up the mess I made in the kitchen.

You know where I'm going with this right?

Armed with the knowledge that Scott cannot say no to anything sweet, I cruised on over to my Google Reader and clicked on Bakerella's blog. She recently posted a lemon bar recipe that was so simple I just had to try it. Besides, I already had all the ingredients in my pantry. Except for the lemons. Luckily, the neighbor's loaded lemon tree has clearly grown over the fence onto our property, so it was a quick walk to the backyard, a swift setup of the step ladder, and voila! lemon larceny.

So here's the easy-peasy lemon bar recipe (Thanks to Bakerella and her little apprentice!)



Lemon Bars

Crust:
1 cup butter
1 3/4 cup flour
2/3 cup confectioner's sugar (plus more for dusting)

Topping:
1 1/2 cup plain sugar
1/4 cup flour
1 tsp baking powder
4 eggs, slightly beaten
1/2 cup lemon juice

Preheat oven to 350 degrees
Grease and flour a 9 X 13 pan

To make crust:

• In a medium bowl, whisk together flour and confectioner's sugar
• Cut in butter until combined and crumbly.
• Press mixture into bottom of pan.
• Bake for 20 minutes or until golden.

To make topping:

• While crust is baking, prepare topping.
• In a larger bowl, add sugar, flour, and baking powder.
• Then add slightly beaten eggs and lemon juice.
• Mix well and pour on top of warm baked crust.
• Bake for 20-25 minutes.
• When cool, dust with confectioner's sugar and refrigerate.
• Cut into bars and enjoy them cold!





By the way, the mess is minimal. Two bowls, a baking dish, a fork and a knife. It really wasn't that bad. I just hate washing dishes that much.