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Ingredients
- SHORTBREAD BASE
- 1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, chilled
- 2 tablespoons each: confectioners' sugar, granulated sugar
- 1 1/4 cups flour
- LEMON CURD TOPPING
- 4 large egg yolks
- 3/4 cup granulated sugar
- 6 tablespoons lemon juice
- 4 tablespoons unsalted butter, softened
- pinch of salt
- 2 teaspoons finely grated lemon rind
- 2 tablespoons confectioners' sugar
Details
Servings 18
Preparation time 45mins
Cooking time 120mins
Preparation
Step 1
1. Heat oven to 325 degrees. Place 8 by 16 inche piece of foil over bottom and up 2 sides of an 8 x 8 inch pan.
2. for shortbread base, made in food processor, cut the butter into 1-inch cubes, wrap it and refrigerate it. Process the sugars in food processor fitted with metal blade for 1 minute or so, until the sugar is very fine. Add the butter and pulse until the sugar disappears. Add the flour and pulse in until there are a lot of little moist crumbly pieces, and no dry flour particles remain. Dump the mixture into a plastic bag and knead it lightly until it holds together.
3. For shortbread base mad by hand or in electric mixer, whisk together the sugars in a medium bowl. Cream butter in a large bowl with the sugars until light and fluffy. Mix in flour with your fingers or the mixer, until incorporated. (If using the mixer, add the flour in 2 batches).
4. Pat the dough into the preparted pan. Use a fork to pierce the dough all over. Bake until the edges are lightly browned and the top is pale golden (do not brown), about 50 minutes.
5. Meanwhile, for lemon curd topping, place a strainer over a bowl near stove. Beat egg yolks and sugar with a wooden spoon in heavy non-aluminum medium saucepan until well blende3d. Stir in lemon juice, butterand salt. Cook over medium heat stirring constantly, until thickened enough to coat thickly a wooden spoon but still liquid enough to pour, about 6 minutes. Do not boil or it will curdle. Pour it at once into the strainer. Press it with the back of a spoon until only the coarse residue remains. Discard the residue. Stir in the lemon rind.
6. When shortbread is baked, remove from oven and reduce oven temperature to 300 degrees. Pour lemon curd over shortbread and return to oven for 10 minutes.
7. Cool completely in pan on wire rack. Refrigerate 30 minutes. Sprinkle with confectioners' sugar. Loosen sides without the foil with metal spatula or knife. Use the foil to left out the lemon bars onto a cutting surface. Use a long, sharp knife to cut them first into thirds, then in half in the other direction and then each half in thirds. Wipe the knife blade after each cut. Store in container at room temperature up to 3 days or refrigerate up to 3 weeks.
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