This is my Grandma’s Lemon Bars recipe – a classic made simple, delicious and melt-in-your mouth good!
As a child, whenever we went to visit my grandparents, my grandma always had a spread of several dozens of different varieties of homemade goodies. If it were for a special holiday, like Christmas, there were even more varieties. Her treat platters were impressive to say the least! Each item was unique, a labor of love, and absolutely delicious.
Before my grandma died, she hand-wrote out several of our family favorite recipes on cute little recipe cards. This recipe box from my grandma is one of my most prized possessions. Of all of the recipes of hers that I have shared, Grandma’s Lemon Bars are the absolute best, without question!
Grandma’s Lemon Bars are such an easy recipe to make. They have a perfect balance of tartness with sweet. The crust is simple, tender and buttery. My favorite memory about her lemon bars was the dusting of powdered sugar on top – it just melted in your mouth! There was always something magical about her lemon bars. Fortunately, this was one of the recipes she included in my recipe box, and fortunately when I make Grandma’s Lemon Bars, they taste exactly like hers did!
- ½ cup butter, melted and cooled
- 1 cup all-purpose flour
- ¼ cup powdered sugar
- Cooking spray
- 1 cup granulated sugar
- 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- 2 eggs, beaten
- 3 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
- zest of 1 lemon
- powdered sugar, for topping
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Spray 8" square baking pan with cooking spray and set aside.
- In a small bowl, mix together butter, 1 cup flour and ¼ cup powdered sugar. Press into prepared baking pan. Bake for 20 minutes, or until golden.
- In a large bowl, mix sugar, 2 tablespoons flour and baking powder. Add eggs, juice and zest, folding gently until combined.
- Pour lemon mixture over baked crust.
- Bake at 350 degrees for 20 minutes. Let cool completely and then dust with powdered sugar.
This week for Sunday Supper, we are sharing Meals with Meaning. The group is sharing recipes from a place in the heart. Whether it is a family recipe or the moment when a recipe was perfected, today we are sharing a story behind the recipe.
To make this event even more special, we are partnering with Gallo Family Vineyards! Each recipe shared today pairs with either Gallo’s Merlot or Chardonnay. It is no secret that Gallo’s Merlot is one of my favorite wines, as I have featured it several times in the past. So this time I decided to challenge myself and make a recipe to pair with the Chardonnay. The wonderful citrus notes and hints of vanilla in this Chardonnay made it a natural pair with Grandma’s Lemon Bars. Grandma would definitely approve!
Read the stories behind the delicious recipes featured by the other Sunday Supper bloggers this week below…and enjoy!
Savory Recipes:
- Baked Cavatini by Magnolia Days
- Italian Noodle Casserole by Cupcakes & Kale Chips
- German Beef Rouladen by Kudos Kitchen by Renee
- Gnocchi with Butternut Squash and Spinach by Ruffles & Truffles
- Lasagna Rolls by Casa de Crews
- Lemon Risotto by The Messy Baker
- New Orleans Red Beans and Rice Soup by The Weekend Gourmet
- Pan Seared Ribeye with Homemade Compound Butter by Big Bear’s Wife
- Portuguese Steak & Eggs – bife com ovo a cavalo by Family Foodie
- Roasted Garlic Cheese Fondue by The Girl In The Little Red Kitchen
- Reuben Mac and Cheese by Bobbi’s Kozy Kitchen
- Spicy Pesto Shrimp Primavera by Flavor Mosaic
- Spinach Artichoke Pizza by Life Tastes Good
- Spinach Rice Casserole by Shockingly Delicious
- White Bean Chili with Cheddar Biscuits by Feed Me, Seymour
Sweet Recipes:
- Boston Cream Pie by Serena Bakes Simply From Scratch
- Chocolate Pavlova by That Skinny Chick Can Bake
- Grandma’s Lemon Bars by Alida’s Kitchen
- Mom’s Apple Crisp by Peanut Butter and Peppers
- Vanilla Cupcakes with Lemon Curd Filling and Lemon Buttercream by The Redhead Baker
For more delicious Gallo Family Vineyards meals with meaning, visit the Gallo Family Vineyards blog.
Join the #SundaySupper conversation on twitter on Sunday! We tweet throughout the day and share recipes from all over the world. Our weekly chat starts at 7:00 pm ET. Follow the #SundaySupper hashtag and remember to include it in your tweets to join in the chat. To get more great Sunday Supper Recipes, visit our website or check out our Pinterest board.
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Compensation was provided by Gallo Family Vineyards via Sunday Supper, LLC. The opinions expressed herein are those of the author, and are not indicative of the opinions or positions of Gallo Family Vineyards.
What a recipe to treasure especially since it is on that cute recipe card and written by your grandmother. It is truly something to pass down generations.
I love lemon bars too. Thanks so much for your treasured recipe.
How special that you have recipe cards passed down to you! I love how cute they are! These lemon bars look SO good.
Oh, I love the look of your grandma’s lemon bars! Any dessert that’s passed the test of many generations has to be a winner!
These look absolutely amazing!
You have to love hand written recipes that have been passed down. The lemon bars look amazing! This is a keeper!
What a treasure to have your grandma’s recipes! I have been searching for the best lemon bars, so I look forward to this recipe! Thanks for sharing your special memories, Alida!
Dear Alida, I love lemon bars. These look and sound wonderful. Have a wonderful Sunday evening. xo, Catherine
What a wonderful treasure to have from your grandma – all the cards and especially this recipe!
My favorite cookie, ever! Adore the recipe card. Computer printout recipes have nothing on a hand-written card.
I just love your story about your grandmother and her writing her recipes out for your family! I have some from mine too! Don’t you feel she’s with you when you make her recipes?
I just love your story about your grandmother and her writing her recipes out for your family! I have some from mine too! Don’t you feel she’s with you when you make her recipes?
What a wonderful treasure to have from your Grandmother! I would kill for something like that, and these lemon bars? I will take the whole pan please!!
I can never pass on Lemon Bars these look amazing!
Wine and lemon bars…works for me!
Thank you so much for sharing these fantastic bars with us… need to try them! 🙂
What a special recipe (gift really) that your Grandma gave you! I know you will treasure it a life time.
I tried this recipie twice and both times were a complete failure. I also tried emailing you at the address listed on your website and was told it is an invalid address (at least 6 times). I had pictures I wanted to show you of the failures because the two pictures speak 2000 words! Basically the lemon curd separated from the shortbread crust and pooled in the middle of the pan. The edges where severely over cooked. The second try I checked the oven temp (perfect), set the timer (30 minutes) baked bottom crust waited for it to completely cool (not mentioned in your recipie), poured in curd and baked additional 30 minutes. This one looked better, except for the ‘hard as a rock’ edges, the middle was very crumbly. Not very good. Any suggestions?
Hi Dulany, I am sorry you had problems with my Grandma’s Lemon Bars recipe. The recipe states to bake for 20 minutes each time, so perhaps the timing was part of the issue. Also, I do not let it cool completely before pouring the curd, so perhaps that contributed to the issue as well. It’s hard to know for sure. Anyhow, I’m really sorry it didn’t work out for you. It is my grandma’s recipe, and one of my favorites that she made. 🙂