Whole Lemon Bars

Not another lemon bar recipe! But yes, and I hope you'll give it a try. This is the second citrus recipe I've made recently that included the rind in the ingredients. (Please use organic citrus; wash it well.) These bars were originally a David Lebovitz recipe; Pastry Studio made some adaptations and commented on her pleasure of the pucker quality of these bars, especially when you're used to the old fashioned (and quite sweet) lemon bars. I liked them too, pucker and all, and found the slight texture in them interesting as well. You can use either crust...I included both Pastry Studio's almond crust, which I used here, and the Lebovitz crust which is what you're more accustomed to seeing.
These are definitely not your generic lemon bars!


Whole Lemon Bars

From :Pastry Studio, adapted from David Lebovitz

Ingredients for the crust:
(David's Crust)
1 cup flour
1/4 cup sugar
1/4 teaspoon salt
4 oz (8 tablespoons) unsalted butter, melted
1/2 teaspoon vanilla

(Pastry Studio's Almond Crust, used in this recipe)
1 cup flour
1/4 cup  toasted sliced almonds
3 tablespoons sugar 
1/4 teaspoon salt 
4 oz (8 tablespoons) cold butter cut into 1/2" pieces
1 egg yolk
1/2 teaspoon vanilla 

Ingredients for the filling:
1 large or 2 small - medium lemons (6 oz)
1 cup  sugar
3 tablespoons lemon juice
3 eggs at room temperature
1 tablespoon + 1 teaspoon  cornstarch
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 1/2 oz (3 tablespoons) unsalted butter, melted

powdered sugar, for dusting

Method:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.  Lightly grease an 8" square pan and line with parchment with a slight overhang on two sides.

For David's pastry crust:, whisk together the flour, sugar and salt until combined.  Add the melted butter and vanilla and stir with a fork just until smooth.  Press into the bottom of the pan, distributing the dough as evenly as possible.
For :pastry studio's crust: put flour, almonds, sugar and salt in the bowl of a food processor and process to combine.  Add the cold butter (cut into 1/2" pieces) and pulse just until the mixture looks like coarse meal.  Add egg yolk and 1/2 teaspoon vanilla and process until the dough just starts to clump.  Press evenly into prepared pan.

Bake the crust until it's golden brown, about 25 minutes. 

Reduce the oven temperature to 300 degree F. 

For the filling
Cut the lemon/lemons in half and remove the seeds.  Cut the lemon into smaller chunks and place them in the bowl of a food processor or blender along with the sugar and lemon juice.  Process until the lemon is finely chopped.  Add the eggs, cornstarch, salt and melted butter and blend until almost smooth.

Pour the lemon filling over the hot crust and bake for 25 minutes or just until the filling stops jiggling and is barely set.  Remove from the oven and place on a wire rack to cool completely. 


Carefully lift and remove the cooled pastry from the pan using the parchment overhang to assist.  Cut the bars into squares or rectangles and sift powdered sugar over the top just before serving.