Last night I attended a surprise birthday party for a friend.  My contribution to the dessert table was lemon bars, a recipe I hadn’t made in about ten years.  I’d forgotten how good they are, and how easy.  They were a hit with the guests, too.  I’ll post the recipe below.  It was nice to go out for the evening and not have to worry about late check-ins or prepping for the next morning’s breakfast.

Late this afternoon I was taking a bag of trash out – possibly the most mundane chore ever – when a full-grown red hawk came out of nowhere, swooped low over my back yard and perched in my neighbor’s tree.  Made my day.

LEMON BARS

Shortbread Base

• 1 ½ sticks (3/4 cup) cold, unsalted butter, cut into pieces
• 2 cups all purpose flour
• ½ cup packed light brown sugar
• ½ teaspoon salt

Preheat oven to 350°F

Process all ingredients in a food processor until mixture begins to form small lumps.  Sprinkle mixture into a 9 x 13 x 2 inch baking pan and with a metal spatula, press evenly onto bottom.  Bake in the middle of the oven until golden, about 20 minutes.

While the shortbread is baking, prepare topping.

Lemon Topping

• 4 eggs
• 1 ½ cups sugar
• Pinch of salt
• 1 Tablespoon + 1 teaspoon a.p. flour
• 1 Tablespoon grated lemon peel
• ½ cup fresh lemon juice

In a medium bowl, beat eggs then add remaining ingredients and blend.  Pour over crust and bake until mixture is set, about 20 minutes.  Cool completely before cutting.

Dust lemon squares with powdered sugar before serving.

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