Lemon Bars

These lemon bars come from Ina Garten's "Barefoot Contessa Parties!" cookbook. They are the best lemon bars I've ever had. The recipe calls for 1 cup of fresh-squeezed lemon juice, but I've found that the bottled kind works great too.

For the Crust:

2 sticks butter at room temperature
1/2 cup granulated sugar
2 cups all-purpose flour
1/8 t. kosher salt


For the Filling:

6 extra-large eggs
3 cups granulated sugar
2 T. lemon zest (1 large lemon)
1 cup freshly squeezed lemon juice (4-6 lemons)
1 cup all-purpose flour
Confectioner's sugar for dusting


Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.

For the crust, cream the butter and sugar until light in the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment. Combine the flour and salt and, with the mixer on low, add to the butter until just mixed. Dump the dough onto a well-floured surface and gather into a ball. Flatten the dough with floured hands and pressit into a 9x13x2-inch baking sheet, building up a 1/2-inch edge on all sides. Chill.

Bake the crust for 15 to 20 minutes, until very lightly browned. Let cool on a wire rack. Leave the oven on.

For the filling, whisk together the eggs, sugar, lemon zest, lemon juice, and flour. Pour over the crust and bake for 30-35 minutes, until the filling is set. Let cool to room temperature.

Cut into squares and dust with confectioner's sugar.