Lemon Bars

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The tantalizing aroma of butter and sugar wafting from the kitchen is all too rare an experience for Two's Company cooks.

Baking, twosomes say, results in too many sweets and far too much temptation. The answer isn't to ban baked desserts but instead look for recipes that yield less.

Bar cookies provide a delicious solution to the leftovers dilemma, and they have the added benefit of being easy to make. No juggling baking sheets. Just pat a buttery crust into an 8-inch pan; add filling and bake.

Start your small-batch baking with this luscious lemon bar recipe featuring a shortbread crust and lemon curd filling. It's delightful after dinner or as an afternoon snack with tea or coffee.

When you first sample the lemon bars, warm from the oven, the filling will have the soft consistency of pudding. Refrigerate the bars for a few hours and the filling firms up (keep the bars refrigerated and serve within a week).

Even though you're not going to finish the bars in one sitting -- please -- you can vary the remainder, so even though you've got a dozen bars, you're not facing the same dessert two days in a row.

Top a lemon bar with a sliced strawberry or a whole raspberry, or sprinkle with confectioners' sugar.

Lemon Bars

Makes 12 bars.

Preparation time: 10 minutes

Baking time: 43 minutes

1/2 cup unsalted butter, at room temperature

1/3 cup confectioners' sugar

1/4 teaspoon salt

1 cup cake flour

2 eggs

1 cup granulated sugar

1 tablespoon cornstarch

1/3 cup fresh lemon juice (juice of 1 large)

Sliced strawberries or whole raspberries, optional

Confectioners' sugar, optional

Cream butter and confectioners' sugar together in bowl of electric mixer. Stir salt into flour. Add flour, 1/4 cup at a time to creamed butter. Pat dough into 8-inch square pan. Bake in preheated 350-degree oven for 13 minutes or until lightly browned at the edges

Beat eggs together in a medium bowl. Add granulated sugar and beat again. Stir together cornstarch and 2 tablespoons lemon juice in a cup. Pour into egg mixture. Add remaining lemon juice. Pour over crust. Return bars to oven. Bake for 30 minutes or until top is firm when gently pressed. Remove from oven.

If desired, top each bar with a strawberry slice. As an alternative, spoon about 2 tablespoons confectioners sugar into a fine-mesh sieve and sprinkle over bars.

Store in the refrigerator.

Cut into 12 bars.

Each bar (without strawberries or additional sugar) has: 200 calories; 8.5 grams total fat; 2 grams protein; 27.5 grams carbohydrates; 56 milligrams cholesterol and 57.5 milligrams sodium.

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Lemon Bars Recipe - Bev Bennett Recipes

(c) 2010 Bev Bennett Recipes