Bright lemon filling over a simple shortbread crust, these lemon bars are sure to please. They are perfect for summer BBQs, potlucks or anytime you just need something sweet!

piece of powder sugar coated lemon bars on plate with fork

Making lemon bars from scratch is easier than you may think. With all of the fresh citrus out right now, I had to make a batch. It brings the bright taste of sweet lemon together with a buttery shortbread crust. It makes my mouth watering just thinking about it. Take a bite out of summer in the most delicious way!

My mother-in-law makes the most delicious lemon bars. So of course I had to ask her for the recipe. Now we all get to benefit!

I have always enjoyed lemon bars. If they were available at a gathering, you better bet I was going to have one on my plate.

But despite my adoration for them, I don't think I had ever made them before. Nana on the other hand, had gone through a number of recipes to find her favorite.

She was generous enough to share the fruits of her labors with us several times along the way. So I was really excited to give her recipe a try for myself.

pouring lemon filling over shortbread crust for lemon bars

She said the key is to juice fresh lemons yourself, don't take the shortcut and use the bottled lemon juice. Besides, juicing a lemon is really quick and easy so it's worth the tiny bit of effort.

I had hit the jackpot with fresh citrus recently, so I decided to whip these up with some meyer lemons. That made for some super delicious treats.

My husband's eyes got really big when he saw the lemon bars. I didn't know how much he likes them, but now I do!

He couldn't wait to get his hands on one. So I gave him one to snack on while I took the pictures.

sifting powdered sugar over 9x13 pan filled with homemade lemon bars

I loaded the rest on a plate to take to family dinner at my parents' house. There he ate a couple of more before we even had dinner.

He admitted to eating at least 3 more after dinner. One of my brothers was trying to keep pace with him.

So, needless to say I didn't have a whole lot of bars left on that plate when we came home. That is a sign of a successful dessert!

While lemon bars are good all year round, they still make me think of summer. So having these makes me so ready for all of the BBQs to come.

If you are a sucker for lemon desserts, you may also like:

Lemon gooey butter cookies are so soft and delicious. They are loaded with cream cheese and start with a cake mix, so they are super easy to make!
If you like chocolate texas sheet cake, you are going to love lemon texas sheet cake! It is made in a saucepan just like the original, but it is bright and lemony!
No bake lemon blueberry cheesecake jars are soft and delicious. They have been a hit every time I made them.

homemade lemon bars, recipes using fresh lemons, lemon dessert

dessert

American

Yield: 24 servings

Author: Cooking With Carlee