Lemon Bars With Shortbread Crust

These are among my favorite desserts. The Shortbread Crust is simplified by using melted butter. Original Source: Allrecipes.com "Lemon Square Bars" by Ralph. I reduced the white sugar in the topping to about 1 1/2 to 1 3/4 cups. This works well with Meyer Lemons too -- reduce the white sugar in the topping to about 1 1/4 - 1 1/3 Cup as the Meyer Lemon juice is a bit sweeter.

• Ready In: 1 hr 5 mins
• Serves: 12

Ingredients

• 2  cups all-purpose flour, sifted
• 1  cup confectioners' sugar
• 1  cup butter, melted
• 4  eggs
• 1 1⁄2 cups white sugar
• 1  teaspoon baking powder (I use Rumford without aluminum)
• 1⁄4 cup all-purpose flour
• 5⁄8 cup lemon juice

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Grease a 9x13 inch pan, making sure you grease the sides of the pan very well.
2. In a medium bowl, stir together 2 cups flour and confectioners' sugar until well-blended. (If the confectioner's sugar is lumpy, sift or push it through a strainer to get the lumps out.).
3. Blend in the melted butter. Press into the bottom of the prepared pan.
4. Bake this (shortbread crust) in the preheated oven for 15 minutes, or until golden.
5. In a large bowl, beat eggs until light.
6. In a separate bowl, mix together the white sugar, baking powder and 1/4 cup of flour so there will be no flour lumps. Stir the sugar mixture into the eggs.
7. Finally, stir in the lemon juice. Pour over the prepared crust and return to the oven.
8. Bake for an additional 30 minutes or until bars are set. Allow to cool completely before cutting into bars.