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slices of lavender lemon bars

Lavender Lemon Bars

Bright, fresh, sweet-tart and citrusy lemon bars with lavender shortbread crust
5 from 5 votes
Prep Time 15 minutes
Cook Time 1 hour
Cool 2 hours
Total Time 3 hours 15 minutes
Course Dessert
Cuisine American
Servings 9
Calories 364 kcal

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
  • cup lemon juice, freshly squeezed
  • 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
Keyword lavender lemon, lavender lemon bars, lemon bars, lemon curd
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