Easy Lemon Bars Recipe for 9×13 Pan

Everyone loves an easy dessert recipe. An easy lemon bars recipe for 9×13 pan is one of the easiest. This recipe offers us tangy, sweet, crunchy, and chewy all in one bar! We can also feel good about it since they have fruit in them.

Our delicious and easy lemon bars recipe for 9×13 pan fits right in as a spring dessert or summer party snack recipe. Everything starts with a delicious crust. The crust is important because it will hold the soft lemon filling and make it enjoyable.

That crust also adds some savory-sweet flavor to the snack that balances out the lemon flavor. Clearly, the crust is important, but the filling is where the magic happens. A lemon bar filling is tangy, sweet, and oh-so gooey.

The trick is not to use artificial flavoring. Of course, any fruity dessert is better with fresh fruit, but this one is even better. Lemons are absolutely tangy, but you get a level of sweetness from a fresh lemon over using artificial flavoring.

We often find that artificial lemon flavoring is a bit heavy-handed with the sour to try and meet our idea of what a lemon should taste like. In fact, this recipe uses lemon juice and lemon zest to help give it more of a lemon-like bite.

This means you must make two recipes, one for the crust and one for the filling. However, both are super simple recipes; putting them together is as easy as pouring a mixture into a pan lined with the crust.

You can throw these together as spring tea party snacks or summer party desserts. Then there are the times we’re just craving something sweet, no matter the time of year. Our lemon bars are a perfect way to get a taste of summer during the winter months.

Easy Lemon Bars Recipe for 9×13 Pan

Lemon bars are similar to lemon tarts; they are similar ideas. However, the cooking method is the biggest difference between a lemon bar and a lemon tart. A lemon tart is a shortbread crust that needs to be baked, cooled, filled with lemon curd, baked, and then cooled again.

This is the classic method of making a lemon tart. The problem with tarts is how long they take to make. A lemon bar uses a similar crust, but the difference is that you don’t need to let it cool twice.

Instead, pour the lemon curd onto the crust as soon as they’re ready. This reduces the cooking time, and you still get a delicious lemon treat. This crust will shrink if you let it cool thoroughly first.

Homemade Lemon Bar Ingredients

Another difference between this easy lemon bars recipe for 9×13 pan is the ingredients list. Shortbread requires more than we will be using. We just need flour, baker’s sugar, and a stick of butter for the crust.

You will also want some cooking spray to ensure the crust doesn’t stick to the foil in the baking pan. The foil lining in the baking pan will make it very easy to pull the bars out when finished.

The lemon curd needs flour, granulated sugar, baking powder, salt, and eggs. Freshly squeezed lemon juice will be best, but one of those little bottles of lemon juice will get the job done in a pinch.

Lastly, lemon zest will round out the curd with delicious lemon flavoring.

How to Make Lemon Bar Crust

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.

Line a 9″x13″ baking pan with tin foil, leaving the edges high to function as handles to pull the dessert out of the pan when cooled.

Evenly coat the foil with cooking spray.

Mix flour, baker’s sugar, and melted butter in a large bowl until blended. Press into the bottom of the pan.

Bake until lightly browned for about 20-25 minutes.

How to Make Lemon Bar Filling

Mix sugar, baking powder, flour, and salt in a large bowl until well blended. Add the lemon juice, lemon peel, and eggs and mix thoroughly.

Pour filling over baked crust and bake for about 20 minutes until the topping sets and the edges are lightly browned.

Remove from oven, allow to cool completely, and dust with powdered sugar. Cut into squares or bars and enjoy!

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