Lemon Cookie Bars
With the fourth of July just two days away, I’m in full-on food planning mode. I know some people will be enjoying their day off inside a cool air-conditioned room, but we’re sticking with the traditional BBQ at our neighbor’s house. I’m planning to bring a couple desserts and still working out the other details.
If you’re like me and trying to finalize plans for what to bring to your next get together, consider bringing these Lemon Cookie Bars. The lemon curd in the frosting provides a great subtle citrus flavor on top of a cookie bar base. The frosting is pretty liquidy as you can see in the pictures, so I would recommend making this a day in advance and storing them in the fridge so the frosting can set up.
Two Years Ago: Chocolate Mousse Cupcakes with Chocolate Dipped Strawberries
Lemon Cookie Bars
Yield: 16 bars
Ingredients:
For the Bars
1/2 cup unsalted butter, at room temperature
3/4 cup sugar
1 egg
1/2 tsp almond extract
1 1/4 cups flour
1 tsp finely grated lemon zest
1/2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
For the Frosting
8 ounces cream cheese, at room temperature
1/2 cup lemon curd
3/4 cup powdered sugar
2 Tbsp sprinkles
Directions:
For the Bars
Heat oven to 350F.
In a large bowl, cream butter and sugar together.
Mix in egg and almond extract; stir in flour, lemon zest, baking powder, and salt until soft dough forms.
Spread dough in bottom of a greased 8×8-inch square pan. Bake 18 to 20 minutes or until light golden brown on the edges and a toothpick in the center comes out clean. Cool completely, about 1 hour.
For the Frosting
Place cream cheese and lemon curd in a large bowl and beat with an electric mixer until smooth. Mix in powdered sugar until smooth.
Spread frosting evenly over cooled sugar cookie bars and top evenly with sprinkles. Cut into 16 bars.
Recipe from Cake Batter and Bowl
I am Jen the Beantown Baker. Engineer by day and baking maven by night. Hubby serves as my #1 fan and official taste tester. We got hitched back in 2006. Barefoot. In the sand. With the waves crashing behind us. It was one of the best decisions we’ve ever made. 
This cake sounds absolutely divine! I can take pumpkin anything any time of the year!
That cake looks absolutely decadent.
I have had this recipe for probably a year then saw it on Pinch My Salt so I decided to make it for Thanksgiving. It was delicious! So easy and the frosting was wonderful. Kept the leftovers in the fridge for several days and it was still as good as the day it was made.
I think I’ll be making this for Christmas. Thanks for the inspiration!
Can I make it with steamed pumpkin?
I just took the cakes out of the oven…smells amazing, looks amazing, but REALLY butter that pan…mine stuck a little…good thing the frosting will cover that part 🙂
beantownbaker — October 15th, 2013 @ 5:02 pm
The frosting saves the day!