Meyer Lemon Bar Recipe
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These ultra thick and creamy Meyer lemon bars sit atop a buttery shortbread crust and will be the last lemon square recipe you’ll ever need!
These are the BEST Lemon Bars with Shortbread Crust
Lemon bars seem to be a staple at bake sales, potlucks, and holiday dessert spreads, and I am absolutely here for it. The problem I find, though, is that too many times, they are flimsy, fall apart, and leave me wanting more of a “base” to hold them and eat them like a bar rather than with a fork like a pie.
This may be an unpopular opinion, but we need thicker crusts on these bars. And my Meyer lemon version of these popular bars have it!
Another thing I love about these Meyer lemon squares is the atypical changeup from traditional lemon squares. Meyer lemons have a slightly orange-y taste to them, which brings a whole different flavor profile than bars made with regular lemons.
Of course, if regular lemons are all you have, that’s totally fine! And if you’d like to mimic the flavor of Meyer lemons because you either can’t find them or don’t want an extra trip to the store (or, you know, Meyer lemons are out of season!), adding in a bit of orange juice can make that happen.
No matter how you slice it, I think these lemon bars with a thick and buttery shortbread crust are going to totally rock your lemon-loving socks!
While these bars call specifically for Meyer lemons, a swap for regular lemons is completely fine. Or, if you’re feeling jazzy, you can do 2 parts yellow lemon to 1 part orange to achieve a similar taste of the Meyer lemon.
No matter what lemon or lemon/orange combo you choose, I’m sure you’ll agree that these bars are seriously like no other you’ve had before.
Why these are the Best Lemon Bars
SHORTBREAD CRUST: this a crust I’ve used over and over when I make my blueberry lemon pie bars. It’s solid, it’s flavorful, it’s buttery, and I add just a touch of zest to the crust so we’ve got lemon flavor happening everywhere.
THE FILLING: these lemon bars are a custard dessert, using Meyer lemon juice in place of milk. There are a lot of eggs happening in this filling, which gives the bars its structure.
Meyer Lemon Bar Recipe ingredients
SHORTBREAD CRUST
• unsalted butter
• granulated sugar
• vanilla extract
• salt
• Meyer lemon zest
• all-purpose flour
MEYER LEMON FILLING
• eggs
• granulated sugar
• Meyer lemon zest and juice
• salt
• all-purpose flour
How to serve the Best Lemon Bars Recipe
These bars are best served room temperature, but will need to be stored in the refrigerator to preserve freshness. I recommend letting them sit out for 20-30 minutes before serving to reduce the chill from the fridge.
HOW TO CUT LEMON BARS
It is important to use a large and very sharp knife to cut your bars. I usually clean off the knife between slices to avoid the bars sticking to the knife too much. If you want to warm the knife and dry it off between slices, that will work even better! Go slow and be patient.
How to Store Lemon Bars
Any exposed filling may become gummy as the bars sit, so be sure the bars are covered tightly. Keep in the refrigerator.
HOW LONG DO LEMON BARS LAST IN THE FRIDGE?
These lemon bars will last about 5 days in the refrigerator.
CAN YOU FREEZE LEMON BARS?
Yes! They can be frozen for up to 3 months. Do not dust with powdered sugar, and cut the cooled bars into squares. Place bars onto a baking sheet and allow to freeze for about 1 hour. Remove from the freezer and Individually wrap each bar in foil or plastic wrap and place into a large container or zip top bag to store frozen. Allow to thaw in the refrigerator overnight, then dust with powdered sugar before serving.
Best Lemon Bar Recipe FAQs
Boyyyy, do these Meyer lemon squares ever have a ton of flavor. This is, no contest, one of the best Meyer lemon recipes you’ll find, because I have to be honest– classic lemon bars have always been a little “eh” for me.
But I turned to my girl Ina (seriously, love her recipes) because I knew she’d have the best recipe, and she definitely did. I just made a few adjustments and used my tried and true shortbread base.
Listen, lemon lovers are passionate. They love lemon as if their life depends on it. Agree? Let my Meyer lemon bars become one of your new favorite dessert recipes with Meyer lemons (or lemons or lemons + oranges).
Because if you can get those Meyer lemons in your kitchen, I guarantee you’ll want to put them in all the lemon dessert recipes you can find!
Best Lemon Bars with Shortbread Crust & Meyer Lemons
Ingredients
SHORTBREAD CRUST
- 1 cup (227g) unsalted butter melted
- ½ cup (100g) granulated sugar
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- ½ teaspoon salt
- the zest of one Meyer lemon1
- 2 cups (240g) all-purpose flour
FILLING
- 4 large eggs room temperature
- 2 and ¼ cups (450g) granulated sugar
- the zest of 3 Meyer lemons1
- ¾ cup (180mL) Meyer lemon juice1 about 3 to 4 Meyer lemons
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- ¾ cup (90g) all-purpose flour
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350ºF (177ºC).
- Line an 8″ x 8″ or 9″ x 9″ baking pan with foil. Leave an overhang on the sides. Set aside.
SHORTBREAD CRUST
- NOTE: please consider the thickness of the crust before gathering the ingredients for the shortbread crust. If you think you'd prefer a thinner crust than the one pictured, cut the ingredients in half and proceed with the recipe.
- In a medium size bowl, stir together the melted butter, granulated sugar, vanilla extract, salt, and the lemon zest. Add the flour and stir until combined.1 cup (227g) unsalted butter, ½ cup (100g) granulated sugar, 2 teaspoons vanilla extract, ½ teaspoon salt, the zest of one Meyer lemon1, 2 cups (240g) all-purpose flour
- Press the crust evenly into the prepared pan. Bake for 18 minutes while you prepare the filling. If you've opted for a half-batch crust, bake for 12 minutes instead.
FILLING
- In a large bowl, whisk together the eggs, sugar, lemon zest, lemon juice, and salt until smooth. Fold in the flour, pressing out any large chunks of flour as you stir.4 large eggs, 2 and ¼ cups (450g) granulated sugar, the zest of 3 Meyer lemons1, ¾ cup (180mL) Meyer lemon juice1, ¼ teaspoon salt, ¾ cup (90g) all-purpose flour
- Pour the filling over the crust and bake the bars for 45-48 minutes, until the filling is set2. A little jiggling in the center is ok (think Jell-O). Allow to cool to room temperature before allowing to chill completely in the refrigerator.
- To serve, remove the bars from the pan using the foil overhang. Cut the bars into desired size and dust with powdered sugar, if desired, before serving. Store leftovers in the refrigerator up to 5 days.
Notes
- If you don’t have Meyer lemons: you can opt to use 2 parts yellow lemon to 1 part orange to achieve Meyer lemon flavor.
- Presentation: the top of the bars may look bubbly. This is ok, and is a reaction of the cooked sugar and eggs. It can show up in some batches and not others, but it is completely normal.
Nutrition Disclosure
All nutritional values are approximate and provided to the reader as a courtesy. Changing ingredients and/or quantities will alter the estimated nutritional calculations.
Started to make your lemon bars because I wanted ones that were thicker, but the very first ingredient measurement is wrong. One cup of butter, melted or otherwise, is 240 grams. I’m afraid to waste my ingredients not knowing if the rest of the measurements are correct.
Hey, Dawn– thanks for catching the one typo in my recipe– 113g is the measurement for 1/2 cup of butter, and 1 cup of butter is actually 227g. Hope this helps.
Okay… I see you corrected the grams. So it does call for a whole cup of melted butter?
Yes, 1 cup or 2 sticks. Which by weight is 227g.
Dawn, I can assure you the rest of these measurements are correct, as I made these lemon bars a month ago and use Lynn’s recipes more than any other blogger for my baking. They are absolutely excellent and some of the best I’ve ever had. The crust is ridiculous, so I encourage you to carry on!
Thanks so much, Lauren! I love how much you love my recipes 🙂
I made these and they are way too sweet. Is 2 1/4 cups of sugar correct? I had to throw these out as they are way too sweet to even eat
Yes, 2 and 1/4 cups of sugar is correct. And the ratio of sugar to eggs is pretty standard for traditional lemon bar custard. Unless you left out the salt, I’m not sure what else to tell you!
Yes, I did use the salt. Thanks Lynn
I suggest a 9×9 pan. I only had an 8×8 and it would not accommodate all the filling, I had 1/2 cup of that luscious mixture left. (will make a cookie crust a bake in mini muffin tins) Loved the flavor and will be making it again
Hmm… It worked just fine in my 8×8! It’s possible you’re using a pan on the shorter side, but I’m glad you still liked it! Thanks, Dianne 🙂
Absolutely LOVED this recipe—it got rave reviews from my coworkers as well. I will say that 45 minutes seems way too long for a cooking time. My bars were a little toasty around the edges and the top had a slight crust. Nothing a knife and some powdered sugar can’t fix!
Thanks so much, Alyssa– the cook time insures the custard is set and less time may yield a gooey center. You want to bake it until the edges are set and it’s no longer jiggly. But yes, powdered sugar usually does the trick for aesthetics!
Welll good news and bad news. Good news was the flavor was fabulous. Bad news was lining with just tin foil definitely did not work for me and was a huge pain to pick off the sides of the bars. Personally I prefer a thin crust to thick filling so next time I may use 50% less of the dough. Will def make again though the filling was fabulous and thicker than most recipes I’ve tried. Super easy too.
Thanks for the feedback, Carmen! We typically use pretty thick foil, and thinner may not work as well. You may want to use parchment next time!
I love this recipe! However tonight I modified it to make a pie in a springform pan with a hybrid golden Oreo shortbread crust! I increased the measurements and added a touch of key lime extract and vanilla bean paste. My house smells incredible! I was craving a key lime pie and didn’t have sweetened condensed milk and I thought why not try and supersize the best lemon bar recipe ever!
I love that, Lindsey! Thanks so much for sharing!
Can this be made in a 9×13?
Hi, Sue– it can, but you will need to double it. Enjoy!
Quick edit – 2.25 c of sugar is only 450 grams (not 550!)
YIKES! Thanks, Cameron!
Directions tell you to put zest in the crust.
Then directions say to add zest to filling!
Hi, Joan. Yes. That’s correct. There is the zest of one lemon in the crust and the zest of three lemons in the filling. I removed your 1-star rating because there was no indication you actually made the recipe, and your comment is really just a statement of… What the recipe says. If you made them and have feedback, I’m happy to hear it. But the instructions are clear and I’m not sure what your question (?) is.
Hi! I just wanted to let you know these turned out wonderfully. Shortbread was wonderful texture and taste, and the filling had the perfect amount of tanginess. I substituted a 1-to-1 gluten free flour and it worked perfectly. The recipe was also very easy to read, thank you for including metric measurements rments and then in the directions or steps so you didn’t have to scroll back up constantly! thank you again!
Thanks so much, Tressa! I’m so glad you enjoyed it and the layout was helpful 😃
Can the shortbread be made in advance, say one day in advance?
Hi, Red– I’ve never done that, but I suspect it should be fine! I would bake it in the pan, let it cool all the way, and then pop it in the fridge or store at room temp (unless it’s particularly warm where you are) covered tightly until needed. Let me know if you try it!
Mixing the liquid ingredients first and having to fold the flour in caused the texture of the filling to be weird and gummy
Hey, Richard– this is standard order of operations in this dessert. Did you bake the bars?
Oh my. These are divine. The thick, buttery shortbread crust holds up to the luscious lemon layer on top! I found meyer lemons at Wegmans and decided if I was going to the effort I was going to make it count so I doubled the recipe and baked these in a 9×13 baking pan. Your trick of lining the pan with foil made it so easy to pop the entire sheet of bars out and cut them into portion-sizes. I wrapped them individually and they froze beautifully. When the mood strikes I’ll pull one from the freezer, let it thaw in the fridge for an hour or two and then sprinkle it with powdered sugar. Chefs kiss!
I love this so much! Thanks, Hillary!