Lavender Lemon Bars
Bright, fresh, sweet-tart and citrusy lemon bars with lavender shortbread crust
Equipment
Ingredients
Shortbread Crust
- 1 ¼ cups all purpose-flour
- ¼ cup granulated sugar
- ¼ teaspoon fine sea salt
- ½ teaspoon culinary lavender
- ½ cup unsalted butter, cut into cubes, cold
Lemon Curd Filling
- 1 ⅓ cup granulated sugar
- 1 tablespoon lemon zest
- 3 tablespoon all purpose flour
- pinch of fine sea salt
- 4 large eggs
- ⅔ cup lemon juice, freshly squeezed
- ⅓ cup heavy cream
- confectioners sugar for dusting
Instructions
For the Shortbread Crust:
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Line a 8x8 square pan with two sheets of parchment paper, making sure the parchment extends over the sides of the pan to form a "sling". Secure the sides with binder clips if you would like.
- In a food processor, pulse together the flour, sugar, salt and lavender until well blended. You want the lavender to be dispersed and chopped up a bit.1 ¼ cups all purpose-flour, ¼ cup granulated sugar, ¼ teaspoon fine sea salt, ½ teaspoon culinary lavender
- Add in the cubes of butter and pulse until the mixture is sandy and starts to form clumps.½ cup unsalted butter, cut into cubes, cold
- Gently press shortbread mixture into an even layer over the bottom of the prepared pan. Refrigerate for a minimum 30 minutes.
- Bake crust for 25-30 minutes or until the crust starts to turn a golden brown.
- Remove shortbread from the oven, let it cool slightly and reduce the temperature to 325 degrees F.
For the lemon filling:
- In a medium bowl, blend together the sugar and lemon zest with your fingers to release the oils from the zest. The mixture should be damp and very fragrant.1 ⅓ cup granulated sugar, 1 tablespoon lemon zest
- Whisk in the flour and salt until blended.3 tablespoon all purpose flour, pinch of fine sea salt
- Add the eggs and whisk briskly so that the sugar doesn't "cook" the eggs and form clumps.4 large eggs
- Add the lemon juice and cream and whisk to fully incorporate.⅔ cup lemon juice, freshly squeezed, ⅓ cup heavy cream
- Pour the filling over the warm shortbread and bake for an additional 25-30 minutes, until filling looks set and doesn't jiggle.
- Let the bars cool to room temperature, about 1 hour. Place in the refrigerator to cool for an additional hour. The longer they cool, the easier and prettier they are to slice.
- Transfer bars to a cutting board and cut into squares or wedges. Using a sieve, sprinkle with confectioner's sugar and serve.confectioners sugar for dusting
Nutrition
Calories: 364kcalCarbohydrates: 52gProtein: 5gFat: 16gSaturated Fat: 9gPolyunsaturated Fat: 1gMonounsaturated Fat: 4gTrans Fat: 0.4gCholesterol: 120mgSodium: 101mgPotassium: 84mgFiber: 1gSugar: 36gVitamin A: 567IUVitamin C: 8mgCalcium: 27mgIron: 1mg
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