The Best Lemon Bars in the World
By: Chef Chow
Published: Thursday, June 5, 2014 - 8:34am

Ingredients




Shortbread Crust
10 tablespoons unsalted butter, cold
2 tablespoons powdered sugar
2 tablespoons granulated sugar
1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
pinch of salt
Lemon Curd
4 large egg yolks
3/4 cup sugar
2 freshly squeezed medium lemons, again the emphasis on the freshly squeezed
4 tablespoons unsalted butter 2 teaspoons lemon zest
pinch of salt
powdered sugar, for dusting

Preparation

1 1. Cut butter into small chunks and let it cool in the freezer. 2 2. Preheat the oven to 325 F. 3 3. In a food processor, process the powdered sugar, salt, and granulated sugar. Pulse on and off for 15 seconds. 4 4. Add the butter. Pulse until the butter resembles small peas. 5 5. Add the flour and pulse until the mixture comes together and pulls away from the sides. 6 6. Lightly knead in a bowl and press into a 9x9 baking dish. No need to butter because the dough is so buttery. 7 7. Dock and bake for precisely 35 min. You don't want too much color because we will bake it again later. Lightly tan is perfect. 8 8. Prepare the lemon curd. 9 9. Add the butter, salt, and freshly squeezed lemon juice (accept no substitutes) and place it on the stove. Stir it with a spoonula or spatula, constantly, until it thickens and resembles a hollandaise sauce, thick but still pourable. If the curd begins to boil take it off the heat immediately or else it'll curdle. 10 10. Press through a strainer. 11 11. Pour it directly onto the crust. 12 12. Bake for an additional 10 minutes at 300 F. The top should not be wobbly. 13 13. Leave to cool on the counter and then into the fridge to cool completely. 14 14. Dust with powdered sugar at service. 15 15. Serve with a smile. And as always, Chow!

About

Sweet without being cloyingly so, buttery without being too rich, and certainly not dense. If I were to use one word to describe these lemon bars it would be, perfect.