Best Lemon Bars Recipe

This is the best lemon bars recipe for the perfect bite sized dessert!

All the delicious lemony goodness found in lemon pie in a bite sized treat. Don’t be surprised if your guests will be asking for seconds.

When you want to enjoy some lemon pie heaven, these lemon bars come to the rescue!

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Hand Held Lemon Pie

Lemon Pie has always been a favorite of mine! Sweet yet tart, it just makes my mouth water thinking about it! But sometimes a whole slice of lemon pie can be too much, so if you are like me, just a bite is all I need to satisfy that sweet and tart craving!

I was searching through my grandmother’s recipes when I came across this recipe for lemon bars and thought I need to try this! I have modified the recipe in a few places. For example, in grandma’s recipe, there was no sugar added to the egg whites – which I thought was strange. And the bottom crust just listed ‘wafers’ and added a whole cup of sugar! It was way too sweet with my choice of Nilla brand wafers.

So after a few tweaks, this Lemon Slice is made with just the right amount of tart flavor and the perfect amount of sweetness!

Ingredients

Lemon Filling: Lemon juice and zest, flour, sugar, egg yolks, water and butter are all you need for this sweet and zesty lemon filling.

Meringue Topping: I just love the meringue on these lemon bars! It is slightly sweet and the bonus is that, since it is made with egg whites, they are low fat and protein packed! So you can indulge in this delicious dessert and feel a little less guilty!

How do you make Lemon Slice?

This lemon slice recipe is so easy to make! There are a few steps, but it comes together very quickly. The biggest job is zesting and squeezing the lemon!

1. Prepare the crust, press into an 8×8 inch parchment lined pan, and bake for 5 minutes
2. Prepare the filling (as per recipe below), pour over prepared base and smooth to the sides.
3. Prepare the meringue and layer on top of the lemon filling.
4. Broil carefully until golden and cool completely.

What does Soft Peak Stage mean?

When you beat egg whites there are different stages.

• No peaks is when the egg whites are just foamy and when you lift the beaters out of the bowl, the whites are still very liquid.
• Soft peaks will form with further beating and the egg whites are no longer foamy. They will look more white and when you lift the beaters out of the bowl, a small peak will hold it’s shape slightly, but will fold over onto itself.
• Stiff peaks form when the egg whites are whipped for an even longer time. The peaks that form when the beaters are lifted from the bowl, are quite firm and don’t fold over onto themselves very easily.

Helpful Hints

• Use a food processor to crush the Nilla wafers, or if you don’t have one, just place wafers in a zippered bag and crush with a mallet or rolling pin.
• Press the wafer base into the pan as much as possible. The back of a measuring cup works well for this.
• Use gluten free flour if and gluten free wafers if needed.
• Feeding a crowd? Double the recipe and use a 9×13 inch pan.
• This recipe will produce 16 small servings, but you can slice into larger pieces if serving to a more hearty appetite. Don’t be surprised if people will be asking for seconds!

If you like tiny bite sized desserts, try these peanut butter balls, apple bars, cookie slice, puffed wheat cake or some simple peanut butter cookies.

I hope you have success making this homemade Lemon Slice! Even though it looks like a lot of steps, it really is an easy recipe. And it’s the perfect bite sized piece of lemon pie goodness!

Other Easy Dessert Recipes to Try

Did you try this recipe for Lemon Bars? Leave a comment below!

 

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Originally posted January 2018