Garden Club Lemon Bars

This is my favorite lemon bars recipe, which I originally copied out of my mother's old Garden Club cookbook, hence the name. I have been making this recipe since I was a little girl and I have always loved it. I have made these so many times over the years and have not really ever felt the need to improve on it. However, when I was a girl I did used to use dried bottled lemon zest(yikes), since I wasn't allowed to use the razor sharp grater. I use the real thing now that I am an adult. I have to admit that I do still usually use the bottled RealLemon lemon juice rather than fresh to this day - in fact, I buy it specifcally for these bars. There is something very nostalgic to me about that green jar of bottled juice, that it just doesn't seem fitting to use anything else. :)

• Ready In: 50 mins
• Yields: 16 bars

Ingredients

• Crust

• 1  cup all-purpose flour
• 1⁄3 cup sweet unsalted butter
• 1⁄4 cup powdered sugar

• Topping

• 3⁄4 cup granulated sugar
• 2  large eggs or 2  large  egg whites, lightly beaten with a fork until foamy
• 3  tablespoons lemon juice (psst -I use bottled lemon juice in this most often)
• 2  tablespoons  grated lemon zest
• 1⁄2 teaspoon baking powder
• 1⁄4 teaspoon salt (optional)

• Additional Ingredient

• 1⁄4 cup powdered sugar or 1⁄4 cup icing sugar, for dusting tops, approximately

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350°F.
2. Combine crust ingredients until mixture resembles crumbs using a pastry blender or a couple of butter knives.
3. Press into a greased and floured 8" square glass baking pan using your fingers- press it so that the entire bottom of the pan is covered evenly.
4. Bake partially for 15 minutes, then remove from the oven.
5. While the crust is prebaking, combine the filling ingredients and pour over the warm crust.
6. Bake for about 15-20 minutes or until lightly browned- do not overbake.
7. Let cool completely.
8. Once cool, sift powdered sugar over the top- you may need more or less to taste.
9. I like mine to look like they've been covered with a snow.
10. Slice into bars and serve.