Kristine Paulsen Photography – Lifestyle Portraits, Editorial and Wedding Photography in Missoula Montana

I love baking.  Love, love, love it!  And yesterday I was talked into making some yummy lemon bars.  (Twist my arm, right?)  I have a tendency to bake when the light is exquisite in my kitchen (it’s just so much more fun to bake in great light…plus, it makes dancing around and singing that much more enjoyable, too) and figured….well hey…this is entirely way too beautiful not to make a few images.  So, tah dah!  Photos of the lemon-bar making process PLUS the delish recipe.  (Courtesy of my friend John G. – he wrote it out and gave it to me when I lived in St. Paul, MN.  Thanks, John – they’re fab, and my dinner guests thought so, too!  In fact, I’d swear they’re almost magical, since they seem to have the ability to disappear….hmmm.. :) )

I highly encourage you to make this recipe yourself – it’s easy, quick and oh so tasty!  Plus, you get to look at the pretty lemons, smell the pretty lemons, and eat the pretty lemons in their new bar form.  Mmmmm.  Enjoy!

Luscious Lemon Bars

Crust:
1 cup butter
1 tsp. vanilla
1/2 cup powdered sugar
2 cups flour

Cream butter, powdered sugar and vanilla. Add 2 cups flour.  {I did this with my food processor – awesome!}  Pat in bottom of 9 x 13 cake pan.  Bake 20 minutes at 350 degrees or until slightly brown.  Immediately add filling to hot crust.

Filling:
4 eggs
2 tsp. grated lemon rind
2 cups sugar
3 Tbsp. flour
1/2 cup freshly squeezed lemon juice (3 to 4 lemons-worth)  {I only had to use 2 for my recipe}
1 cup coconut {I eliminated the coconut since I’m not really much of a fan…I know, I know….}
1 tsp. baking powder

Beat eggs slightly. {Again, I just plopped all this in my food processor again.} Add 2 cups sugar, lemon juice and rind, 3 Tbsp. flour, and baking powder with coconut. Pour over baked crust (remember – you’re adding this filling to the hot crust, so be sure it’s ready by the time you take the crust out of the oven!), and bake an additional 20 to 25 minutes until filling is set.  Cool.  Sift additional powdered sugar on top.  Cut into bars.

Devour.  Yum!

Ok, now for the photos!

Four little lemons, all in a row - I only used two of them.

Half a cup of powdered sugar for the crust - or if you're like me, a "heaping" half cup...

Pat the crust into a sun-drenched cake pan.

Add the four eggs to your filling mixture. Marvel at how cool eggs are.

Grate the lemon rind for the filling and savor the citrus smells...mmm...

Cut your grated lemon in half and squeeze the heck out of it.

Be on your best behavior and wait patiently for your lemon bars to cool before adding powdered sugar topping.

Turn on some tunes and shake it while you sift on the powdered sugar.

Cut up those little bars, admire how beautiful they are and gobble one up. Or savor it. Whatever floats your boat. :)

The end!

-Kristine

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