My parents recently sent me a whole Priority Mail box of lemons, and prior to my backpacking trip I made a batch (cooked a little longer at a lower temperature for both chewyness and durability and because the power went out in the process). Lemon bars, after all, are a combination of carbohydrates, simple sugars, bright, bold flavors and pure fat--perfect for any cool-weather camping or backpacking expedition!
Without further ado, my parents' no-fail recipe:
No-Fail Fundakowski-Feldman Lemon Bars
makes one jellyroll pan or 9 by 13 pan, makes around 40-50 cookies
Crust:
- 1 Cup (1/2 lb.) butter (or margarine)
- ½ Cup confectioners sugar (you can go 1/3 c confectioners then remaining sugar in the raw if you like the crunch like me)
- 2 Cups flour
- 1 teaspoon salt (optional, my addition)
Topping:
- 2 Cup sugar (or, 1 1/2 C. turbinado sugar, 1/2 C. white sugar if you like the crunch of the big crystals)
- ¼ Cup flour
- 4 Eggs
- 6 Tblsp. Lemon juice (1/3 C. plus 1 T.)
- Very outer rind of 1 – 2 lemons, micro-planed if you have one, grated if not
- 1 tsp. Baking powder
- pinch-dash salt (I go dash, recipe says pinch)
- Powdered sugar for dusting the top (1/4 c)
- Coat 9x13 inch baking pan or jelly roll pan with non-stick spray or margarine and preheat oven to 350º F.
- Assemble crust; cut butter into sugar and flour mixture (or food process for great ease!).
- Press crust into 9 by 13 inch coated baking pan.
- Bake at 350º for approximately 20 min. or until barely browning (your nose knows when the crust can come out!).
- While baking, beat eggs in large mixing bowl; If using raw sugar or turbinado sugar cream in sugar at this time to give it a little more time to incorporate.
- add all but lemon juice and rind and mix until smooth and creamy.
- Finally add lemon juice and rind.
- Pour on top of baked crust and return to 350º F oven for 25 minutes or until top is set. Dust with confectioners sugar and cut into bars when cooled and set. Bite-sized bars work best, no matter what size the bars at Starbucks are.
- Keep all the chewy edges for yourself, give away the ones that look nice but are inferior in texture.
- Store in airtight container with wax paper between layers of cookies. These freeze very well.
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