Lemon Cookie Bars

These Lemon Cookie Bars have a sugar cookie crust and topped with a lemon buttercream with swirls of lemon curd for an easy cookie recipe that doesn't require a lot of effort but still gives you soft cookie texture.

Ingredients and substitutions for Lemon Cookie Bars

• Lemon: Verna lemons were most easy to source for this recipe, but honestly, any unwaxed lemon you have on hand works. You will want the skin to be as blemish free as possible for the zest.
• Butter: Unsalted butter is used for the cookie, but if all you have on hand is salted, that works as a fine substitute, just leave out any salt suggested in the recipe.
• Sugar: Confectioners or icing sugar dissolves into the buttercream and the superfine or caster sugar adds to the sugar portion of our cookies creating a nice balance without making them overly sweet.
• Eggs: The egg binds and adds structure to our cookies resulting in that soft interior that compliments the sugar and butter.
• Flour: Plain or all purpose flour is best for a nice light cookie crumb.
• Baking powder: This helps our cookies rise so they are not stodgy.

See recipe card for quantities.

How to make Lemon Cookie Bars:

Step 1: Rub: Toss the sugar and lemon zest into a bowl and rub together to draw out the oils in the peel.

Step 2: Pale and fluffy: Add the butter and beat until pale and fluffy with an electric beater.

Step 3: Egg: Add the egg and vanilla extract and beat until well combined and fluffy.

Step 4: Dry ingredients: Add the flour and baking powder into a bowl and stir together.

Step 5: Toss: Into the wet ingredients and beat on low until just combined.

Step 6: Lightly golden: Toss into the tin, pressing evenly and bake until ever so lightly golden on the edges.

Step 7: Buttercream: Beat the sugar and butter in a bowl until pale and add in the lemon juice, stirring to combine.

Step 8: Swoosh topping: Smear to the very edges, swooshing a little and smearing the lemon curd a little on top.

Serve 9: Cut and serve: Cut into equal pieces, serve up and dig in!

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Lemon Cookie Bars

Sylvie Taylor

Lemon sugar cookie bars topped with a lemon buttercream make a batch of cookies low effort for a tasty treat, particularly when you're craving something zesty or have lemons you don't know what to do with.

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Prep Time 20 minutes mins

Cook Time 20 minutes mins

Cooling time 20 minutes mins

Total Time 1 hour hr

Course Snack

Servings 16 cookies

Calories 235 kcal

Ingredients

  

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Lemon cookie bars

• 100 grams / ½ cup superfine/caster sugar
• 10 grams / 2 teaspoons lemon zest finely chopped
• 100 grams / 3.5 ounces butter room temperature
• 55 grams / 1 large egg room temperature
• 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
• 267 grams / 1 ⅔ cups plain flour
• 6 grams / 1 ½ teaspoons baking powder

Lemon buttercream

• 100 grams / 3.5 ounces butter softened
• 90 grams / ¾ cup + 1 tablespoon confectioner/icing sugar sifted
• 21 grams / 1 ½ tablespoons lemon juice 1 large lemon
• ¼ teaspoon sea or kosher salt
• 20 grams / 1 tablespoon lemon curd

Instructions

 

Lemon cookie bars

• Preheat oven to 180C/350F and line a square baking tin with greaseproof paper.
• Place the sugar and lemon zest into a bowl and rub together to coat the zest thoroughly with sugar and draw out the oils in the peel.
• Add the butter and beat until pale and fluffy, approximately 3 minutes with an electric beater.
• Add in the egg and vanilla extract and combine until smooth, approximately 1 minute.
• Toss in the flour and baking powder and beat on the lowest setting until the flour has just been combined and no dry portions remain in your bowl.
• Pour the mixture into your tin and press firmly with your hand and then even out with an offset spatula into your baking tin.
• Place in the oven and bake for 20 minutes or until ever so slightly golden.
• Remove and allow to cool completely.

Lemon buttercream

• To make the buttercream filling, place the butter and sugar into a bowl and beat on medium with an electric mixer until pale and fluffy, approximately 4 minutes.
• Add in the lemon juice and salt and stir until fully combined.
• Remove the bars from the tin and mark out the edges where you will cut your cookies.
• Spoon the buttercream on top of the cookie and smear to the very edges, swooshing a little.
• Spoon ¼ teaspoonfuls of the lemon curd on top of the buttercream and swoosh.
• Slice and serve.
• Enjoy!

Notes

• Lemon: Verna lemons were most easy to source for this recipe, but honestly, any unwaxed lemon you have on hand works. You will want the skin to be as blemish free as possible for the zest.
• Square tin: A 18×18 cm or 7×7 inch square baking tin works well here, though a rectangle tin would also work well.

Recipe by Roamingtaste

Nutrition

Calories: 235kcal

Keyword citrus, cookies

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