I’m back chickadees! And it’s a new season.
This winter has been the winter of my discontent. It was cold and wet, inside and out. But a change of seasons does bring a change of perspective — flowers are budding, the sun is shining, the birds are singing, and happiness is a little easier to find.
I’ve missed you this month, though. I find myself, even on hiatus, constantly writing blog posts in my head. If everything that went through my head went on this page I’d be posting 8 times a day. But the break was good, refreshing. I cooked without taking pictures of what I ate. And I spent time with the Nuni, and Ken, and a stack of good books, and a garden.
One of the beauties of living in Southern California is that it’s perfectly normal to have fruit trees in your garden. We were lucky to have 2 ornamental plums, 2 peaches, a pineapple guava tree and a fig tree already planted when we moved in. We brought our potted Meyer Lemon and Bearss lime, and this winter we’ve been very busy planting a veritable orchard — apricots, more peaches, greengage plums, persimmon, quince, grapefruit, tangerine, navel orange. And this spring they have obliged us by bursting into bloom. I look forward to a summer of jam.
Our older trees are already bearing fruit, and we got a bumper crop of Meyer Lemons this year. Thinner skinned than regular lemons, they are also more aromatic and less sour. I’ve been using them in salad dressings and any place else where I’d use lemons, but some were so fat and juicy they deserved something special, like these lemon bars. Perfect whenever you need a little sunshine, these are a little softer than traditional lemon bars and less tart, more floral. Springtime in a cookie.
Recipe: Meyer Lemon Almond Bars
Adapted from Ina Garten
Ingredients
- For the crust:
- 8 oz. (2 sticks) butter, at room temperature
- 1/2 cup granulated sugar
- 1 cup flour
- 1 cup almond flour
- 1/2 teaspon almond extract
- pinch salt
For the lemon filling:
- 6 large eggs
- 1 1/2 cups granulated sugar
- 2 tablespoons grated Meyer lemon zest
- 1 cup freshly squeezed Meyer lemon juice
- 1 cup flour
- Powdered Sugar, for dusting
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.
For the crust:
- Cream the butter and the sugar together until fluffy. Add the flour and the salt and mix until just mixed.
- Grease a 9 X 13 baking sheet, dump the dough into the sheet and press into a crust. Chill for at least 30 minutes, up to a couple of hours.
- Bake the crust for 15 to 20 minutes, until lightly browned. Leave the oven on.
- For the filling, mix the eggs, sugar, lemon juice, lemon zest and flour until combined, with no lumps.
- Pour over the crust and bake for 30 minutes, or until the filling is set.
Let cool to room temperature, cut into squares and dust with powdered sugar.
Welcome back! We’ve missed you.
We all could take a note from you – breaks are good for the soul!
Welcome back!
It’s good to have you back, Kate. I can’t wait to see what else you’ve got cooking.
Welcome back, and happy spring!
Great to see you back! You are going to love your new orchard!!! How exciting! I can’t live without a meyers lemon tree. Can’t wait to try your recipe for lemon bars.
Great to see you back! You are going to love your new orchard!!! How exciting! I can’t live without a meyers lemon tree. Can’t wait to try your recipe for lemon bars and looking forward to more!
Good to have you back. And my dad’s meyer lemon tree is begging to be transformed into these bars. – mary
Welcome back, woman! I can’t wait for my little lemon tree to start giving fruit.
So glad to have you back Kate and those lemon bars jut scream “spring”. YUM!
Yes you are so fortunate to have such an array of gorgeous and fresh fruit. Over here in Colorado, we had an 80 degree day on Saturday and snow on Sunday. No lemon tree for me : (
But, I can still make these bars.
These bars are amazing, and I didn’t even have great lemons! New rule: when life gives you lemons, make Meyer Lemon Almond Bars. (Really glad you are back!)
yay for spring! these lemon almond bars look fantastic and what a great combo of ingredients! i’m going to have to pick some lemons from my grandma’s tree and get to work on this recipe
so glad you are back!
As you may recall, I never cook but I love to window shop on your blog. Tonight my toddlers were fascinated to look at some of the pictures of how food gets made. It was so sweet and fun to hear their genuine delight that this weekend I am going to make these lemon bars (seems simple enough, right?)! Thanks for the inspiration!