Lemon Bars

When life gives you lemons...you make lemon bars right? All that sugary, sour sweetness is exactly what I need to bring a little sunshine into some not so sunny days here in Minnesota. Spring is great...but lately the warm days have also brought a lot of wind which has forced my running back indoors. I really don't like the extra work to run into the wind along with the blowing sand and dirt that comes with it. But, on the bright side I've been able to use the track to time my miles again and see where I'm at. And guess what? I've gotten my miles down to 9 minutes and 15 seconds since hitting the outdoors this last February. That's 45 seconds faster per mile from last summer! I'm proud of that.
I learned today that there is a Triathlon Club in a city near mine and they meet every Tuesday and do hill sprints! Boy, that sounds crazy doesn't it? I mean, who the heck wants to run uphill on purpose for 30 minutes? Me...that's who. I am so there! Run up the hill, walk down and repeat. With other crazy people who want to do it too. Did you know that sprinting uphill actually will improve your over time in distance running? Yep! And I bet it burns extra calories so I can eat a few more lemon squares...

Lemon Squares
From Belle of the Kitchen (click to see her blog post)

For the Crust
1 3/4 c Flour
2/3 c Powdered Sugar
1/4 c Cornstarch
3/4 tsp Salt
1 1/2 sticks Unsalted Butter

For the Filling
6 eggs, room temperature
3 cup sugar
Zest from 2 lemons
1 cup Lemon Juice (I used 5 lemons to get this much)
1 cup Flour
Powder Sugar for dusting

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Spray a 13x9 lasagna pan with cooking spray and line with parchment paper, letting the paper come up the sides.

Add flour, powdered sugar, cornstarch and salt to food processor and pulse to blend. Cut butter into pats and add to food processor, blending for about 10 seconds. Then pulse until mix is pale yellow and looks like coarse meal...it should be about an additional 3 seconds of blending. Put mixture in your lined dish and press firmly with your fingers or a measuring cup to form an even layer over the entire pan. You should end up with about a 1/4" thick crust. Refrigerate for 30 minutes then bake 20-25 minutes until golden brown.

While the crust is baking, whisk together eggs, sugar, lemon zest, lemon juice and flour. When crust is done, pour lemon mixture over crust and bake an additional 30 to 35 minutes until the filling is firm and set. Allow to cool completely at room temperature. Use the parchment paper to remove from pan before cutting (make it easy on yourself). Peel down the sides and use a knife or pizza cutter (my favorite) to form however many bars you'd like...but these suckers are sweet and sour so you might want to keep them on the small side. Sprinkle with powdered sugar before serving.