Lemon Bars

Submitted by Melissa Maxwell


1 cup soft butter or margarine

1/2 cup powdered sugar

2 cups flour

Cream butter and sugar; add flour. Mixture should be pea-sized gravel looking for easiest spreading. Spread in 9 x 13" pan and pat down. Bake at 325 degrees for 15-20 minutes (until edges start to brown). While crust is baking, prepare next layer:

4 eggs

2 cups sugar

4 T. flour

4 T. lemon juice

Grated rind of 1 lemon

Beat eggs til foamy, then add sugar, flour, lemon juice and rind. Mix well and pour over hot crust after it comes from oven. Now bake for 15-20 minutes at 325 degrees. Remove from oven and sprinkle with powdered sugar (I put powdered sugar in a small strainer to sprinkle over the top). Cool slightly before cutting.

You can do half the recipe in an 8x8 pan, but it's never enough. Also, this crust works for raspberry bars, putting thinned raspberry jam over the crust and sprinkling some of the crust mixture over the jam.