Mother’s Day is coming up, and since so many of you brave
souls will be attempting a celebratory brunch, I thought I’d post this
much-requested lemon bars recipe, in case things don’t go as smoothly as anticipated.
Preparing brunch can be tricky anytime, let alone under mom’s watchful (aka
“extremely concerned”) eyes. Can someone please get her a mimosa and walk her
into the garden?
little too golden-black, no worries! If you finish the meal with these
gorgeous, and absolutely impossible to mess-up lemon bars, she’ll be as proud
as she will be impressed. Our moms may have taught us the importance of a good first
impression, but its America’s restaurateurs who discovered the importance of a
delicious last impression. There’s nothing like a well made pastry to make one forgive a tough steak.
Other than a baking dish, there’s no special equipment or
techniques required. Both the shortbread base and the lemon custard take only
minutes, and are simply hand-mixed in a bowl.
Basically, if you can move your arm
in a circle, and effectively set a timer (there’s one on your phone), your
lemon bars should look just as good as these (maybe better – see meringue note
below). Anyway, whether you’re going to make these for Mother’s Day or not, I
hope you give them a try soon. Enjoy!
egg white whipped with 1 tablespoon of sugar) and brown with torch.
*My Meringue
If you decide to turn these into lemon meringue bars, do yourself a favor and actually measure the sugar. I couldn’t be bothered to check a recipe, so I only tossed in a teaspoon of sugar, and it should be closer to a tablespoon. The technique is the same; beat the extra white to the ribbon stage (where drips of white stay on the surface for a few seconds), and then add the sugar and continue whipping until you have nice, glossy peaks. My “by eye” batch worked fine, but it was a little too dry, and not quite sticky enough. Be advised.