Baked Lemon Bars

Name: Baked Lemon Bars
Yield: about 12 bars
Ingredients: 8 oz room temp butter (half a box); 1/2 cup sugar substitute; 2 cups of all purpose flour; 1/8 teaspoon salt; 6 room temperature eggs; 3 cups sugar substitute; 2 tablespoons lemon zest (about 4 large lemons); 1 cup fresh lemon juice (from those same lemons); 1 cup all purpose flour; plenty of powdered sugar substitute for sprinkling over the top (or dunking)

blackcatblue08
May 21
3 min read

Because who doesn't love lemon bars

I was looking for a springtime dessert that could be adapted a couple different ways. You see, here in the cottage we have a few dietary challenges - like most families, I suppose. At any given point, I may need to adjust for low carb, low sugar or gluten free - or whatever I think will shrink my belly at the moment. Disclaimer: I am not a nutritionist, dietician or medical professional of any sort. I eat what works for me and mine and you decide what works for yours.

These lemon bars are based on the fabulous Ina Garten's popular recipe - you can find it here if you'd like to make these bars straight as intended https://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/ina-garten/lemon-bars-recipe-1941483

Note: I adjusted these with low sugar as my goal - see the tips below for other adaptations.

https://video.wixstatic.com/video/a42428_1ec6f0e4cdf84e048f6bc52ff34474c4/1080p/mp4/file.mp4

Baked Lemon Bars in 30 seconds

Recipe makes about 12 bars, more or less depending on your sweet tooth. After the first big bar out of the oven, I actually like to cut these bite size. I feel less guilty that way - even if I eat more than one.

List of Ingredients

For the cookie bottom:

8 oz room temp butter (half a box)
1/2 cup sugar substitute
2 cups of all purpose flour
1/8 teaspoon salt

For the lemony top:

6 room temperature eggs
3 cups sugar substitute
2 tablespoons lemon zest (about 4 large lemons)
1 cup fresh lemon juice (from those same lemons)
1 cup all purpose flour
plenty of powdered sugar substitute for sprinkling over the top (or dunking)

Start with the cookie dough

Preheat oven to 350 degrees fahrenheit.

Cream the butter and sugar with an electric mixer until smooth and soft yellow in color. Sift the flour and salt together and slowly add to mixer (on low) until combined. Dump the dough onto a floured surface and form a ball. Now squish that into the bottom of a 13x9 pan and press out to cover the bottom and start coming up the sides. For best results, chill the dough before baking - but be careful if you're using a glass pan, as I've heard of newer ones shattering going from cold to the hot oven.

Bake the crust for 15-20 minutes, until lightly golden. Cool on a wire rack.

The lemony part

In a large bowl, whisk together the eggs, sugar substitute, lemon juice, lemon zest and flour. Pour this luscious mixture over the crust and bake for another 35 minutes at 350F until filling is set.

Cool on a wire rack and dust generously with powdered sugar substitute.

Let cool and cut into squares

This is always the hardest part. Like so many things, these bars are better after resting in the fridge overnight - but who can resist that long? I can only wait until they are cool enough to eat before sampling.

Tips & Notes

Most baking recipes call for unsalted butter. If you have it, use it. I rarely spend the extra for unsalted and just use the box in the fridge. It'll be fine.
I use Splenda instead of sugar for this recipe. Use your favorite sugar substitute - just check if it is a one to one sub or if you need to adjust amounts. If you want to use real sugar, use the same measurements I have here. Your bars will be sweeter and slightly lighter than with Splenda.
If you want this to be gluten free, you're in luck here, too. There are good GF options now - again, just check if the sub is one to one.
I mentioned this above - please do not put a glass baking dish directly into a hot oven from the fridge. Let it sit for a bit and come closer to room temp. Personally, I skip chilling the dough to avoid the risk of throwing out my oven.
For the powdered sugar, if your store doesn't carry the substitute, you can find it online (I'll drop a link below). Regular powdered sugar is, of course, the most delicious and if you use sparingly, you can still say the recipe is "lower sugar".
When I portion these out to give away, I like to include a small container of powdered sugar (or sub) for extra dunking.
Powdered sugar = Confectioners sugar
I keep leftovers in the fridge.

Helpful links

If your store isn't carrying all the substitutes and you want to try them, here is what I use. As an amazon affiliate, I may earn a commission on purchases made through these links.

Sugar substitutes: https://amzn.to/49eA4KA

https://amzn.to/43kWYML

Gluten Free Flour: https://amzn.to/4dVvx2a

https://amzn.to/4tYG6GQ

Powered Sugar Substitute: https://amzn.to/3RonNx1