Lemon desserts have always been my go-to, even as a child. I remember my mom used to sneak a lemon-filled doughnut into my lunchbox every year on my birthday and still surprises me with one anytime I am home. Therefore, it is no surprise that I decided to create a lemon bar recipe that incorporated booze - vodka to be exact. If you have ever had a lemon drop shot, you will know about how delicious the pair can be.
These lemon bars have a buttery shortbread crust and tart lemon filling. They are especially great in the spring and summer when you are after something light and refreshing. A few notes to take down when baking this treat...
- When making the crust do not get worried about the crumbly nature of the mixture - it should be like a slightly dry cookie dough.
- Make sure you do not overbake! The bars may seem underdone, but you actually don't want them to brown like you would a cake. You only want to see light brown around the edges of the pan, the bars should keep their pale yellow color and perhaps have a few bubbles on top.
- Don't be surprised when your beautiful, powdered sugar dusted bars become boring yellow squares overnight. Although I recommend dusting right when they come out of the oven (the powdered sugar adds a sweet top layer), the sugar will dissolve into the filling and you will need to re-apply right before you serve.
and most importantly...
let these cool completely before eating! The lemon needs time to develop, if you eat these right out of the oven they will seem bland. The first time I made them I flagged them as a fail and set them aside to be disposed of. Luckily my husband did not know these were "terrible bars" and ate one the next day. Wow was I surprised! The flavour palate had completely changed and they were now delicious!
Vodka Lemon Bars
Ingredients
- CRUST
- 2/3 c. butter, softened
- 1/4 c. sugar
- 1 c. all purpose flour
- 1 tsp vanilla
- 1 tsp vodka
- 1/4 tsp salt
- ---
- LEMON FILLING
- 4 eggs
- 2 c. sugar
- 2 tbl lemon zest (about 2 lemon's worth)
- 1 c. fresh lemon juice
- 2/3 c. flour
- 2 tbl vodka
- 1 tsp vanilla
- 2 tbl cream
- 1/4 tsp salt
- powdered sugar, for dusting
Directions
- Step 1 Preheat oven to 350F and grease a 9x9 pan
- Step 2 Cream your softened butter and sugar using a hand/stand mixer. Stir in vanilla and vodka.
- Step 3 Add your flour and salt to the wet mixture and mix until combined. You will end up with a crumbly mixture - this is what you are after.
- Step 4 Press your crumbly mixture into an even layer in your greased pan and bake for 15-18 minutes, or until the edges are light brown. Sit aside to cool.
- Step 5 While your crust is baking, start on your filling!
- Step 6 First, mix your eggs and sugar together until just combined. Add your lemon juice, zest, vodka, vanilla and cream and mix well.
- Step 7 Fold in your flour and salt until well combined. Your mixture will be thin - don't worry it will firm up in the oven.
- Step 8 While your crust is still warm, pour over your lemon filling and stick back in the 350F oven for 25-30min, or until the filling is slightly brown on the edges (not the middle). Do not overbake!
- Step 9 Remove from oven and dust with powdered sugar. Note that this layer of powdered sugar will likely dissolve onto the top of the bars, you will need to re-apply the powdered sugar right before serving to get that pretty snow-covered look.
- Step 10 Enjoy with a bubbly vodka cocktail or a nice cup of tea - depends on your mood!
