Lemon Pie Bars
Phenomenally delicious and easy to make
Servings: 16 squares
Ingredients
Crust
- 1 ½ cups Honey graham cracker about 12-13 crackers
- 6 tablespoons (¾ stick) unsalted butter melted
- 1 tablespoon granulated sugar
Filling
- ½ cup heavy cream
- 1 14-ounce can sweetened condensed milk
- 3 large egg yolks lightly whisked
- ½ cup lemon* juice freshly squeezed and strained, from about 2-3 large lemons
- 1 teaspoon lemon* zest grated, from about 1-2 large lemons
Fresh Whipped Cream
- 1 cup heavy cream
- 1-2 tablespoons confectioner's sugar
Instructions
- Position the oven rack in the middle and preheat the oven to 350 F. Grease a 8-by-8-inch square baking pan with butter (and if desired for ease of retrieval, line with parchment allowing the long ends of the parchment to hang over the sides).
- Make the crust by first pulsing the graham crackers into medium-fine crumbs using a food processor. You could also do this in batches by placing the graham crackers in a clean Ziploc bag and rolling over them with a rolling pin.
- Once the graham crackers are all evenly fine crumbs, combine them in a medium bowl with the melted butter and sugar. Mix together with a fork to moisten the crumbs, then firmly press the mixture into an even layer onto the bottom of the prepared square pan. Cover the crust with parchment and press with your hand or a drinking glass to completely level the crust.
- Bake the crust for 8 minutes, until it is lightly golden. Remove and allow to cool completely before adding the filling, about 30-60 minutes. Turn the oven temperature down to 325 F.
- Start 2-3 cups of water boiling in a pan or kettle with a spout.
- Make the filling by whisking together the cream, condensed milk, and egg yolks. Add the lemon juice and zest, continue whisking until combined. The filling should be a thick, cohesive yellow mixture. Pour it over the cooled crust.
- Place the filled pan inside a 9-by-13-by-2-inch pan or any other baking pan with an equivalent height. Pour the hot water from the pan or kettle into the larger pan, such that the hot water comes up halfway along the sides of the square pan.
- Bake the lemon pie bars for about 17-18 minutes, until the filling is puffy along the edges and tapping the pan no longer causes the center to jiggle. Carefully(!), remove the pan from the hot water bath and set it on a wire cooling rack for 1 hour. Refrigerate until fully chilled, at least another 2 hours or ideally overnight.
- Make the whipped cream by whipping the cream on medium speed until it begins to thicken. Add the 2 tablespoons of confectioner's sugar and continue whipping until the cream holds soft peaks.
- Dollop the chilled bars with cream, cut into squares, and serve.
- If you are going to keep some portion of them for later, don't put whipped cream on top of that portion. The untopped bars will keep in the refrigerator for no more than 3 days.
Notes
*Either regular or Meyer lemons will work here.