Ina Garten’s Lemon Bars Are the Gooey, Zingy Old-Fashioned Treat Everyone Asks the Recipe For

When you’re craving a light and zingy treat, lemon bars deliver sweet, gooey deliciousness in every bite. They’re the perfect dessert for a potluck, BBQ or afternoon picnic—and Ina Garten’s lemon bars recipe is one you’ll want to bookmark. Her version features a buttery homemade shortbread crust baked to golden perfection, then topped with a tangy, citrusy lemon filling. Once set, the bars are sliced into squares or triangles and finished with a dusting of powdered sugar. Keep reading for the full recipe for the Barefoot Contessa’s irresistible take on this classic dessert.

Ingredients for classic lemon bars

To make lemon bars, you’ll need fresh lemon zest and juice, butter, eggs, flour, granulated sugar, salt and powdered sugar. These are all ingredients you likely have on hand, so it’s easy to prepare a batch of lemon bars as a last-minute dessert idea.

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Can you freeze lemon bars?

If you have leftover lemon bars, you can keep them fresh for months to come by freezing them. The USDA recommends storing lemon bars in the freezer for up to three months. Be sure to wrap the bars in plastic wrap and place them in an airtight prior to freezing so they maintain their freshness.

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Step-by-step instructions for Ina’s lemon bars

Below, you’ll find Garten’s lemon bars recipe from her 1999 cookbook, The Barefoot Contessa. While these bars are scrumptious on their own, serving them with fresh berries or berry jam takes them to another level. Yum!

Lemon Bars

Ingredients:

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For the crust:

• ½ lb unsalted butter, at room temperature
• ½ cup granulated sugar
• 2 cups flour
• ⅛ tsp kosher salt

For the filling:

• 6 extra-large eggs at room temperature
• 3 cups granulated sugar
• 2 tablespoons grated lemon zest (4 to 6 lemons)
• 1 cup freshly squeezed lemon juice
• 1 cup flour
• Confectioners’ sugar, for dusting

Directions:

• Active: 10 mins
• Total time: 1 hr, 35 mins
• Yield: 20 squares or 40 triangles

1. Preheat the oven to 350°F.
2. For the crust, cream the butter and sugar until light in the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment. Combine the flour and salt and, with the mixer on low, add to the butter until just mixed. Dump the dough onto a well-floured board and gather into a ball. Flatten the dough with floured hands and press it into a 9 by 13 by 2-inch baking sheet, building up a ½-inch edge on all sides. Chill.
3. Bake the crust for 15 to 20 minutes, until very lightly browned. Let cool on a wire rack. Leave the oven on.
4. For the filling, whisk together the eggs, sugar, lemon zest, lemon juice, and flour. Pour over the crust and bake for 30 to 35 minutes, until the filling is set. Let cool to room temperature.
5. Cut into triangles and dust with confectioners’ sugar.