You’ll love my Lemon Sugar Cookie Bars because they have a light citrus flavor and a soft, moist texture.
Summer is here and so is the sweltering heat. That’s why today I am bringing you a recipe that’s perfect for your next summer potluck. These Lemon Sugar Cookie Bars are the perfect combination of citrus and sweet.
Best of all, this recipe is poured into a single pan and sliced into squares. If you haven’t discovered this yet, bar recipes are fantastic time savers.
Instead of leaving the oven on for hours to make dozens of cookies, you get the whole dessert finished in one go. The less oven time, the better! Especially here in the south when summers become unbearable.
For this recipe, you’ll use all of the zest and half the juice of one lemon. Your bars will have a light lemon flavor and the texture much like a soft sugar cookie.
A light dusting of granulated sugar is all you need on top to create a thin, crunchy crust. Your bar cookies should stay soft for 3 to 4 days, but are best with a day of baking.
Lemon Sugar Cookie Bars
Ingredients
- 1 cup granulated sugar
- 1 cup unsalted butter room temperature
- 2 large eggs
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1 lemon zested
- 1 tablespoon Lemon juice
- 2 and 1/2 cups all purpose flour
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1/4 cup granulated sugar reserved for topping
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
- Grease a 9x13 baking pan or line with parchment and set aside.
- In a large mixing bowl, combine softened butter, sugar, and vanilla. Beat in eggs, lemon zest and lemon juice until combined.
- In a separate bowl, sift together dry ingredients - flour, baking soda, and salt. Slowly stir dry ingredients into wet ingredients until combined.
- Pour into prepared pan and use a spatula to spread evenly to the edges. Batter will be thick.
- Sprinkle up to 1/4 cup of reserved granulated sugar evenly over the top of the batter.
- Bake for 20-22 minutes, then test with a toothpick for doneness. Insert toothpick into the center of the pan. If toothpick comes out with wet batter, the bars are not done. Continue checking every 2 minutes. If toothpick comes out with a few crumbs, then the bars are done. Bars will be lightly browned around the edges and beginning to lightly brown on top.
- Place pan onto a wire rack and allow to cool completely before cutting and enjoying.
