Currently cooking out of Pure Dessert by Alice Medrich.
In the headnotes to this recipe, Medrich warns that these bars are tangy, and boy, is she right! These aren’t for those people who just want a hint of lemony sweetness.
At first, I was skeptical about whether or not I’d like these bars. I tasted the lemon filling before I baked it and it didn’t seem all that lemony to me. In fact, I thought it was almost overwhelmingly sweet. Instead of adding more lemon juice, I decided to go ahead and bake the bars as they were, trusting Medrich. She was right.
The recipe called for an 8×8 square pan, but I used a 9×9 square pan instead. My lemon bars ended up on the slim side, but they still packed a lemony wallop. The only other change I made to the recipes was to use the juice of two lemons and a lime, along with the zest, instead of all lemons or limes. In the finished product, I couldn’t really taste the lime.
The bars sliced cleanly, even though I didn’t take the time to refrigerate them. I’d imagine that after a day or so, the crust might begin to soften, but I can’t say for sure. They didn’t last that long.
See, I think we need a new rule here. If you make anything lemon, you must fax me a sample. I think that just needs to be a rule. I have a recipe that makes good lemon bars but they aren’t LEMON bars. I always try to add a bit extra lemon juice to try to get that flavor to pop. Maybe these would be what I’m looking for… LEMON in all caps!
MMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMM Those look so good…..