Lemon Shortbread Crumble Bars
Delicious lemon shortbread bars made with simple ingredients and real lemons! These lemon bars have a shortbread crust and crumble topped with a thick creamy lemon filling layer.
Equipment
- 13x9 baking pan
- Nonstick Spray
- whisk
- silicone spatula
Ingredients
Shortbread Crust and Crumble
- 2½ cups all purpose flour
- 1 cup butter, melted (2 sticks)
- ⅓ cup sugar
- ¼ teaspoon salt (omit if using salted butter)
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
Lemon Filling Layer
- 28 ounces sweetened condensed milk ((2) 14ounce cans)
- 6 large egg yolks
- ¾ cup freshly squeezed lemon juice (4-6 lemons depending on size of lemons, be sure to measure the juice separately)
- 2-3 tablespoons lemon zest (Tip: Zest the lemons before juicing them!)
- ¼ cup heavy whipping cream
- ⅛ teaspoon salt
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350℉. Prepare a 13x9 baking dish with parchment paper, leaving overhang to pull the bars out of the pan, and greased with nonstick baking spray.
- In a bowl, combine melted butter, sugar, salt, and vanilla. Then fold in the flour. Dough will be crumbly but should form when pressed together.
- Reserve ¾ cup of the crumbly shortbread dough to place on top of the bars later. This is optional, you can use all the dough for the shortbread base if you do not want the crumble on top.
- Place the rest of the shortbread dough into the prepared baking pan and press the dough into the bottom of the pan in an even layer.
- Bake for 10-12 minutes. Remove from the oven and immediately use a fork or butter knife to add tiny indents into the warm dough. Be sure to not poke all the way through to the bottom, just gently poke through to the center around the entire pan.
- While the shortbread crust layer bakes, make the lemon filling layer. In a bowl, combine sweetened condensed milk, lemon juice, lemon zest, heavy whipping cream, and salt, whisking thoroughly to combine until completely uniform.
- Pour the lemon layer mixture over the shortbread crust. If using the crumble, sprinkle the remaining ¾ cup of shortbread crumble over top of the lemon layer. Place back into the oven and bake for 22-25 minutes. The bars should not brown (although the crumble will brown a little), and the bars should no longer jiggle.
- Leave the bars in the pan to cool for 1-2 hours at room temperature before moving the pan to the refrigerator to cool for another 2 hours minimum, up to overnight.
- Once the bars are completely cooled and set up, remove from the pan. Dust with sifted powdered sugar. Slice into 24 slices and enjoy! Keep refrigerated.
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