Lemon Bars (of a sort)

For my daughter's class Valentine's Day party, I made individual lemon bars in cupcake cups. I doubled the recipe and put about 2 Tbsp. of crust in each cup, then pressed down with a small, plastic cup before pre-baking.There was more than enough crust yet the perfect amount of filling for 24, so I pressed the remaining crust into a smaller pan, baked it, then cut it into squares, making shortbread-ish type cookies.



Lemon Bars

CRUST
1/2 C. butter, softened
1-1/3 C. all-purpose flour
1/4 C. white sugar

FILLING
2 eggs
3/4 C. white sugar
2 Tbsp. all-purpose flour
1/4 tsp. baking powder
3-1/2 Tbsp. lemon juice

Powdered sugar to sprinkle on the top

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

FOR CRUST: Mix together the first three ingredients with a fork until crumbly. You can also blend them in a food processor. Use pulses until it gets crumbly. This is a lot faster and easier, though clean up is a little more involved. (But that's why we love dishwashers.)

Press crumbles into an 8-inch square pan and bake for 20 minutes. The crust will still be white; do not brown!

NOTE: If you want to make sure that your lemon bars come out extra pretty, line the bottom of the pan with parchment paper first, then press the crumbles in. It wouldn't hurt to spray the sides either.

FOR FILLING: Combine the rest of the ingredients (except for powdered sugar) in a blender. (Yes, you can do this by hand with a whisk, but it's WAY easier in the blender, plus you'll get a smoother consistency in the blender.) Blend until well mixed. Pour over pre-baked crust.

Return to the oven and bake an additional 20 minutes. Once they're out, sprinkle with powdered sugar while warm. Let bars cool completely before cutting.