Making Memories & Lemon Bars

As Christmas Day inches closer and closer, it’s easy to get a little stressed out – trying not to forget gifts for neighbors and friends, making sure all the cards get in the mail, wrapping gifts like a ninja while the kids are in bed, or tracking down those gifts you hid so well earlier in the season that you can’t find them again.

But what really matters at Christmas is the time we spend with loved ones, sharing traditions and making memories. When all the hustle and bustle is done, what you will remember are the meals eaten together and the laughter and the love we share with those who are important to us.

Some of our traditions may be ones you share. We allow our girls to open one gift Christmas Eve, which is always the same – Christmas jammies. Surprise! But they love them each time and it’s fun for me to find jammies that suit them every year.

Christmas Jammies 2014

We also have an Advent tradition that helps us focus on the true meaning of the season – the birth of our Savior Jesus Christ. I found it one year at Joann Fabrics. It is a collection of 24 little books that you hang on the tree and each is numbered for the 24 days leading to Christmas Day. They each tell a small part of the Biblical story, starting with the census decreed by Caesar Augustus that lead to the journey of Mary and Joseph, all the way to the birth of the Baby Jesus in the manger. I used to have to read them to the girls and now they read them to me. Truthfully, some days we do multiple books at once to catch up, but it still helps keep our hearts focused on the real Christmas story.

Our Advent Calendar Tradition

Food also plays very prominently in our traditions and memories. After Christmas Eve service at church, we come home to a meal of appetizers, usually cocktail wienies and Swedish meatballs that can cook in a slow cooker while we are at church, veggies and dip, and cheese and crackers.

After our platefuls of tiny foods, we like a plateful of tiny desserts. Out come the cookies and chocolate bark, etc. I must admit I am not much of a sugar cookie girl, but I love a good, ooey, gooey lemon bar. A little citrus is just the thing to balance all of the chocolate and overly sweet treats.

My Mom used to make Lemon Bars for Christmas. In fact, I think they were her favorite treats, as she doesn’t love chocolate as much as the rest of us. I have made her recipe before and it’s delicious, and I have made the boxed Krusteaz mix before as well. Those are very close to homemade and definitely faster if you are pressed for time.

But this year I thought I would take on a classic Ina Garten recipe for Lemon Bars. Actually, it is based on another blogger’s recipe based on Ina’s, so I am calling mine Ina Garten’s Lemon Bars Twice Removed.


It is not overly complicated, but does require a few more steps than a boxed version. The payoff is a delicious buttery shortbread crust, a custard-like, tart filling and a crisp sugar top. In short, they are the bomb.

I am not an expert baker, and my crust skills could definitely use some work. I have a hard time getting it pressed into the pan smoothly and evenly, but once you top the crust off with the filling it all comes together nicely. The top of my bars were a little hilly after baking, but this too is covered nicely with powdered sugar.

The recipe says it is 20 servings, but they are so rich that you could easily cut it into smaller pieces to serve more people or savor longer.

Whatever traditions you enjoy and foods you like to eat, I hope you can focus on your loved ones and reflect on the best gift of all, our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.

Merry Christmas!

AuthorMelissa JoyDifficultyIntermediate

Yields20 Servings
Prep Time30 minsCook Time55 minsTotal Time1 hr 25 mins

For the Crust:
 2 sticks Softened Butter
 ½ cup Granulated Sugar
 2 cups Flour
  tsp Salt
For the Filling:
 6 Large Eggs at room temperature
 3 cups Granulated Sugar
 1 cup Flour
 1 cup Freshly Squeezed Lemon Juice (about 4-5 medium lemons)
 2 tbsp Lemon Zest (about 2 medium lemons)
 Powdered Sugar for dusting

1

Preheat the oven to 350º. Line a 9x13 baking pan with parchment paper, and spray lightly with cooking spray.

2

Using a mixer, cream the butter and sugar together.

3

Add the flour and salt to the creamed butter and mix until a thick dough forms.

4

Press the dough into the pan, pushing up to form a 1/2 inch crust on all sides. Try to make the crust even all around.

5

Bake the dough for 20-22 minutes, or until golden brown. Allow the pan to cool, then slip into the fridge to chill.

6

While the crust cools, add the eggs, flour, sugar, lemon juice and zest to a bowl and whisk until completely blended.

7

Once the crust is completely cooled, pour the lemon filling into the pan, on top of the crust.

8

Pop the pan back into the oven and bake for 30-35 minutes until the filling is set, and no longer jiggles.

9

Allow the bars to cool completely on the counter or pop the pan back into the fridge to chill and further set.

10

Once the bars are completely cool, cut into rectangles or squares and sprinkle with powdered sugar.

Ingredients

For the Crust:
 2 sticks Softened Butter
 ½ cup Granulated Sugar
 2 cups Flour
  tsp Salt
For the Filling:
 6 Large Eggs at room temperature
 3 cups Granulated Sugar
 1 cup Flour
 1 cup Freshly Squeezed Lemon Juice (about 4-5 medium lemons)
 2 tbsp Lemon Zest (about 2 medium lemons)
 Powdered Sugar for dusting

Directions

1

Preheat the oven to 350º. Line a 9x13 baking pan with parchment paper, and spray lightly with cooking spray.

2

Using a mixer, cream the butter and sugar together.

3

Add the flour and salt to the creamed butter and mix until a thick dough forms.

4

Press the dough into the pan, pushing up to form a 1/2 inch crust on all sides. Try to make the crust even all around.

5

Bake the dough for 20-22 minutes, or until golden brown. Allow the pan to cool, then slip into the fridge to chill.

6

While the crust cools, add the eggs, flour, sugar, lemon juice and zest to a bowl and whisk until completely blended.

7

Once the crust is completely cooled, pour the lemon filling into the pan, on top of the crust.

8

Pop the pan back into the oven and bake for 30-35 minutes until the filling is set, and no longer jiggles.

9

Allow the bars to cool completely on the counter or pop the pan back into the fridge to chill and further set.

10

Once the bars are completely cool, cut into rectangles or squares and sprinkle with powdered sugar.

Ina Garten’s Lemon Bars Twice Removed

One Comment

  • Edie LIBBY

    YOU ARE RIGHT, my darling daughter…These lemon bars are “the bomb”. You can tell that you used the real deal lemon juice and it makes all the difference in the world!
    YOU GO BLOGGER BABE! = }