By the Book: Lemon Bars

So, we have this lemon tree that we pretty much ignore- well, that is up until the last week. The poor tree was at the point where it was starting to lean to the left under the weight of all the lemons it was producing (which is technically its own fault). The highest branches were sagging and it just looked... uncomfortable. So, I picked all of the 6,432,909 lemons and then my husband pruned the hell out of it (yes, I know, not the right season, but it was the humane thing to do, trust me). And then I decided to make lemon bars.

I have actually never made lemon bars in my life and have only had them two or three times. Instead of slumming it on Pinterest, I decided to use my trusty Better Homes and Gardens book (online recipe here) for inspiration and, of course, found an easy recipe.

Unfortunately, 3/4 cup of lemon juice requires approximately 4 lemons. Apparently I should have made ten pans. 

The most irritating part of making any sort of pastry crust in using a pastry blender to cut in the butter (or shortening, if that's how you roll). It's just so tedious and my hand gets tired (insert dirty joke here). Anyway, after you're done making the crust (flour, butter, powder sugar, corn starch, salt) you pop it in the oven to cook while you make the lemon filling (lemons, eggs, sugar, milk). I choose to leave out the lemon peel because for some reason I've decided it's gross. After the crust is done you pour the lemon mixture on top, pop it back in the oven for fifteen minutes and you're good to go. 

They turned out pretty damn good- my husband, who claimed to not like lemon bars, even seemed to like them.