These whole meyer lemon bars don’t exactly scream Christmas but I found a bag at Save On this week and let out a noise similar to when you’ve won a large sum of money. Not that I’ve ever won a large sum, I can only assume. I didn’t even know they were available in December! I’ve only spotted them one other time in the store this year. Small town living at its finest.
I quickly stashed them in my cart and went on my merry way with my mind racing. Lemon bars, lemon loaf, lemon tarts. Yes yes and yes!
Fun fact: A meyer lemon is a cross between a lemon and orange.
Since meyer lemons are such a hot commodity around here, I used the whole lemon in this recipe. Minus the seeds. No one wants to eat a seed. Even though my husband assured me it was “fine” I still don’t want to chance it.
My lazy self loves this recipe. It only uses the food processor and I don’t even bother to wipe it out between the crust and filling. If it ends up you get a little extra flour, sugar or butter in the filling they’re going to be that much better! I don’t know if that’s accurate or just the story I tell myself.
Find the original recipe here
- 1 cup flour
- ¼ cup sugar
- ½ cup melted butter
- 1 tsp vanilla
- 1 meyer lemon, seeds taken out. A regular lemon can be used.
- 1 cup sugar
- 3 tbsp lemon juice. Fresh or bottled
- 3 eggs
- 1½ tbsp cornstarch
- 3 tbsp melted butter
- Powdered sugar for serving
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Line an 8 inch baking pan with foil.
- In a food processor combine the crust ingredients and press into the foil lined baking pan.
- Bake for 20 minutes.
- Meanwhile in the same food processor bowl combine the lemon and sugar. Run the processor on high until the lemon is completely broken up. Check one last time for a stray seed.
- Add the lemon juice, eggs, cornstarch and butter and pulse until smooth.
- Lower the oven temperature to 300.
- Pour the filling over the crust and continue baking for 25 minutes.
- Let the bars cool and refrigerate at least 4 hours before serving.
- Sift some powdered sugar on top if desired.
Another great looking treat, Angie.
The Old Fat Guy.
Convinced! Have to try them 🙂
These sound fabulous. What else could I use since I don’t have a food processor?
I love them so much. A little too much! 🙂 If you have a blender, hand blender or bullet, that would work too.
Can these be frozen?
Honestly I’m not sure how they would freeze. We usually eat them before I can even think about packing them up 🙂
Are you using the peeling as well…may be a dumb question to some
Yes I cut the lemon in quarters, dig all the seeds out and then throw them in, peel and all.
I am very wary of putting in a whole lemon. I made a different lemon bar one time, doing the same thing, and they were so bitter that I had to throw them away! Is there a difference between Meyer lemons and a regular lemon in that respect?
The meyer lemon is definitely sweeter as it’s a cross between a lemon and orange. The peel is thinner too. My sister in-law said they were the best lemon bars she’s had. I hope you can get your hands on some to try out 🙂
Angie, this is the first time I’m trying this recipe. I grow my own lemon’s and one was ripe so I needed a recipe that used real lemons. I hope it comes out great. It is baking as I type. Thank you for the recipe.
I would love to grow lemons!! I’m sure you’ll be happy with the results.
I used Meyer lemon but mine was bitter. I was so disappointed with the out come.
I had the same thing a few weeks ago! I’ve made this so many times with great results but the meyer lemons I picked up last were so bitter in my latest batch of bars. I’m going to switch to normal lemons next time. Sorry you had the same result. It’s such a shame when that happens!!
Angie
I made these this afternoon and I am questioning the amount of butter to the flour ratio. Once I baked the crust and removed from the oven, there was a pool of butter. I actually added slightly more flour and sugar to the mix as the consistency didn’t seem right. I hope that I am pleasantly surprised with the outcome in a few hours.
Oh no! I haven’t had a pooling effect with these bars. Hope they did turn out for you!
I have a tree full of Meyer lemons. I can’t wait to try these. My lemon tree is my baby, it makes me so happy and this recipe sounds perfect ☺️
I’m so envious of your lemon tree! I bet it’s gorgeous!!
I am curious about the size of the lemon you used. I was given two Meyer lemons today and they are the size of a grapefruit. Is this their normal size? This recipe sounds GREAT and I want to make sure my lemons aren’t too big.
Thanks
Wow really? I’ve only ever seen Meyer lemons on the small side. Usually a bit smaller than the average lemon. Sounds like you’d need to use a half.
Toss some lavender into the sugar and blend in the blender until well mixed. Lemon and lavender…a yummy blend!!
Yes! that’s a great idea!!
These were soooooo easy! Very rich and delicious. Mine were a teeny bit tart, but I think my Meyer lemon was on the large side. Thanks so much for the recipe!
Oh that could be, our Meyer lemons are quite small. I just picked up a bag today!
When will I learn to not use recipes that don’t have a lot of reviews. When I went to poor the filling onto the crust, the crust was no where near baked and it fell apart and mixed into the filling! Baker beware 20 minutes is not long enough and I should have known that! Change the directions to say until lightly browned or something to that effect.
Thanks for the feedback. As always use your own judgement with any recipe. Temperature and bake time vary from oven to oven.
Hey would it be possible to double this recipe without messing up the bars? Around here when you make any dessert you better make a lot.
Too funny, we seem to go through a lot too 🙂 I would just double everything and use a larger baking pan like a 9×13
I made these for a party yesterday and they came out great! They came together quickly, easily, with minimal mess. Using the whole lemon and food processor was so much easier than zesting and juicing. And the flavor was wonderful, not bitter or too tart, just right. My new favorite lemon bar recipe. Thank you!
Thanks so much for letting me know! 🙂
I have to admit I was skeptical about using the whole lemon. I am a skeptic no more! These bars are easy and incredibly delicious! I love meyer lemons and I will surely make this recipe whenever I am lucky enough to find them again.
They are sure hard to find, only about 1-2 times a year where I live! Glad you enjoyed 🙂