Luscious Lemon Bars

There are so many great recipes out there for practically every dish and dessert you can think of. I've tried a few for lemon bars and this is about as good as it gets, imho. Not too crazy sour or too sweet. Goldilocks would be thrilled. Right amount of work involved for excellent results. I give it five stars.

I haven't frozen these ever, so I can't comment on that. They go too quickly in our home. But if we did freeze them, I would make make sure to wrap them well and put them in a freezer baggie inside an airtight container.

Thank you.

First lemon bar ever made, so did not make many changes this time. It's a keeper & when coping onto recipe card realized I only used 1 stick of butter for crust!  Came out fine....Added zest to crust for extra flavor.  

Used my food processor which kept crush light; not solid.  Mixed egg/ lemon batter also in food processor.....quick & easy clean up.

Good as is, but can easily change to your liking...more or less sugar/ lemon.  I chose to use oat flour, no one knew. Gluten-intolerance. Plan to make again!!!

We really enjoyed these, especially the shortbread crust. It's taste and texture were great.

After freezing and defrosting, however, the shortbread no longer had any crunch.

This was a BIG DISAPPOINTMENT because I was using these for a big event I was cooking and baking for as well as hosting.

I made these for my father in law's birthday, and they were perfect!

Preferred Cook's Illustrated Best Lemon Bar recipe-much more lemon flavor and less sugar

This is going to be my new go-to recipe for lemon squares - they are great! I read the reviews before making them and made some adjustments, which made them just right for me. I reduced the sugar to one cup, used salted butter, and juiced/zested three large lemons. I think I'll go down a little bit more on the sugar next time, just to give them a little more pucker. Love them!

I made this with granulated sugar in the crust instead of powered the 2nd time and it tasted way better. The crust tasted like flour with the powered sugar.

Great recipe. I added way more lemon zest (3tsp) and lemon juice (1cup) then reduced the amount of sugar (1cup) and they're soooo good. The crust is AMAZING!

I followed the directions exactly as written. These were easy to make and very tasty. I also added extra lemon juice. Yummy!

I made these last night. The directions were easy to follow. The lemon bars turned out beautifully and they tasted delicious! Can't wait to serve them for dessert tonight! I would say this is an easy recipe for any cook at any level could prepare.

I rated this 4 stars because as the recipe is written it is much sweeter than I like, but some may like their lemon bars more sweet than tart. I increased the lemon juice (fresh squeezed) to 1 cup and used 1.5-1.75 cups of sugar, and about a 1/3 cup of flour. It was tart yet still a bit sweet. So if you like your lemon bars truly LEMON, go for adding more lemon juice. Other than that, it's a keeper. I did NOT make the crust so cannot comment on that. I used a graham cracker crust.

I made these a couple years ago straight from SL magazine and they didn't have any lemon flavor. I just made these again today and doubled the lemon juice and zest and holy smokes they are awesome!

This is a better rating. ********** (10 stars) Living in Florida, I really enjoy citrus of all sorts. These are EXCELLENT!

2 cups of sugar is way too much sweetness! If you want lemon flavor have it slightly tart. I've tried adding just 1 cup sugar and I find that the recipe is still a bit too sweet, next time I'm going with 3/4 cup sugar. Also, there is not enough lemon juice. I know SL has been doing this recipe for years, I'm surprised they have never thought to improve it with less sugar and a bit more juice!

Everyone else likes these so much that I am wondering if I did something wrong. I put in 2 tsp of zest and still thought they weren't very lemony. They stuck to the foil terribly; maybe I didn't grease it enough. And they needed salt. I should have added about 1/8 to 1/4 tsp to the crust. I did like that the lemon topping set up well and wasn't gooey like some lemon bar recipes

They were good but not quite enough lemon flavor.

DeLish!!!!! These are a family favorite!!! Only change I made was to add some more lemon zest and juice. Soooooooo Yummy!! :)

I love the flavor, crust, and consistency of these bars! They are outstanding. I added extra lemon juice, per previous comments, and lemon zest. I have made these many times now, and the only drawback I have is that they never come out a strong shade of yellow like typical lemon bars. Not sure if I should be covering them with foil, or adding more lemon juice, but I don't want these to be too lemony??

Wonderful lemon bars! I added a bit of extra zest to make them a bit more tart, but the sweetness of the crust (and what a wonderful crust) balanced it nicely. I am taking them to a Superbowl party (I saved a few for us) and will certainly be making them again and again!!

If you like lemon bars these are the best!! Everyone is always asking me for more!

I have made other lemon bars that had more of a lemony flavor, however I found the crust for these to be better and flakier and as other reviewers, I added some extra lemon zest, but not enough so I will need to add more next time I make these. Overall, these were definitely a cookie favorite and I would recommend the recipe with added zest.

Made these for a bake sale and they were a huge hit. I would definitely make this again.

This recipe is wonderful! It's the perfect thing if you want a sweet lemon treat. The crust alone can be its own cookie.

Made this recipe two times now. First time I made it exactly as the recipe said and it was all right. Wasn't very lemony. Second time I added more lemon juice (1/2cup+) and a TON more zest and it came out incredible! If you love lemon flavor add a lot more than is called for!

SOOOO Good!!

Totally live up to their name! The only thing I'll do differently next time is add a little more lemon zest.