Recipe: Meyer lemon bars with almond shortbread crust
A sprinkle of powdered sugar is the final touch for Meyer lemon bars with almond crust. Debbie Arrington
It’s Meyer lemon season and time to celebrate these juicy little marvels. Believed to be a cross between a mandarin and a standard lemon, Meyer lemons tend to be small with smooth skin. Naturally sweet, they’re packed with lemon flavor but no bitterness.
Which makes Meyer lemons ideal for lemony desserts; not as much sugar is needed to balance their acidity.
Here’s a lemon bar variation that makes the most of the Meyer lemon difference. Eureka or other standard lemons may be substituted, but the filling will be tarter and not quite as sublime.
Chopped almonds and almond flour pack the shortbread crust with almond flavor – a nice complement to the Meyer lemon filling. A little bit of all-purpose flour added to the filling helps create a delicate top “crust.” A dusting of powdered sugar is optional.
Because Meyer lemons are small, you’ll need two (maybe three) lemons for this recipe.
Meyer lemon bars with almond shortbread crust
Makes 16 bars
Ingredients:
For crust:
½ cup salted butter, room temperature
½ cup powdered sugar
¾ cup all-purpose flour
¾ cup almond flour
¼ cup almonds, chopped
For filling:
2 eggs
1 cup sugar
½ teaspoon baking powder
2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
¼ cup Meyer lemon juice
1 tablespoon Meyer lemon zest
More powdered sugar for dusting (optional)
Instructions:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
With a mixer, beat butter until fluffy, about 30 seconds. Add ½ cup powdered sugar and mix to combine. Add ¾ cup flour and the almond flour; mix to combine. Fold in chopped almonds.
Line an 8-by 8-by 2-inch deep pan or baking dish with parchment paper. Press the crust mixture into the pan, using the bottom of a glass or spatula.
Bake crust in 350-degree oven until top is light golden brown, about 15 to 20 minutes.
While the crust is baking, prepare the filling. In a medium bowl, beat eggs with mixer until creamy. Add 1 cup sugar, baking powder and remaining flour. Beat to combine. Add lemon juice and zest. Beat to combine; filling will be light and creamy.
When ready, remove crust from oven and cool slightly (1 or 2 minutes). Pour filling over crust and return pan to oven. Bake at 350 degrees for another 20 to 25 minutes or until top is light brown at the edges and a delicate crust has formed.
Remove from oven and cool on rack. Carefully remove from pan by lifting up parchment paper and transferring to a cutting board or large plate. Pull down paper around outer edges. Sift 2 or 3 tablespoons of powdered sugar over top. Cut into 2-by-2-inch bars. Transfer bars to another plate to continue cooling. Serve at room temperature.
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Garden Checklist for week of Jan. 12
Once the winds die down, it’s good winter gardening weather with plenty to do:
* Prune, prune, prune. Now is the time to cut back most deciduous trees and shrubs. The exceptions are spring-flowering shrubs such as lilacs.
* Now is the time to prune fruit trees. (The exceptions are apricot and cherry trees, which are susceptible to a fungus that causes dieback. Save them until summer.) Clean up leaves and debris around the trees to prevent the spread of disease.
* Prune roses, even if they’re still trying to bloom. Strip off any remaining leaves, so the bush will be able to put out new growth in early spring.
* Clean up leaves and debris around your newly pruned roses and shrubs. Put down fresh mulch or bark to keep roots cozy.
* After the wind stops, apply horticultural oil to fruit trees to control scale, mites and aphids. Oils need 24 hours of dry weather after application to be effective.
* This is also the time to spray a copper-based fungicide to peach and nectarine trees to fight leaf curl. (The safest effective fungicides available for backyard trees are copper soap -- aka copper octanoate -- or copper ammonium, a fixed copper fungicide. Apply either of these copper products with 1% horticultural oil to increase effectiveness.)
* When forced bulbs sprout, move them to a cool, bright window. Give them a quarter turn each day so the stems will grow straight.
* Browse through seed catalogs and start making plans for spring and summer.
* Divide daylilies, Shasta daisies and other perennials.
* Cut back and divide chrysanthemums.
* Plant bare-root roses, trees and shrubs.
* Transplant pansies, violas, calendulas, English daisies, snapdragons and fairy primroses.
* In the vegetable garden, plant fava beans, head lettuce, mustard, onion sets, radicchio and radishes.
* Plant bare-root asparagus and root divisions of rhubarb.
* In the bulb department, plant callas, anemones, ranunculus and gladioli for bloom from late spring into summer.
* Plant blooming azaleas, camellias and rhododendrons. If you’re shopping for these beautiful landscape plants, you can now find them in full flower at local nurseries.
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