Monday, February 6, 2012

Ina's lemon bars (by way of Smitten Kitchen)


Don't you love it when someone else does the work for you?

Take these lemon bars, based on an Ina Garten recipe, no doubt delicious in its original form, but tweaked to perfection by the inimitable Deb at Smitten Kitchen. She always gets it right, doesn't she? I don't read many of the superblogs, like the Pioneer Woman or Orangette, but I do sometimes look at Smitten Kitchen. While she may not need me as a reader, I need her expertise now and then--and her thoughtful revisions to recipes.

For Ina's lemon bars, she reduced the sugar and came up with proportions that evened out the lemon-to-crust ratio. I split the recipe in half and baked it in an eight-inch glass pan. I had to bake the crust a bit longer than the recipe said, about 22 minutes. Once the lemony layer (I used Deb's thinner version) was spread over the baked crust, the bars went in for an additional 25 minutes. You can find the recipe and variations here.

These were the perfect combination of sweet and tangy, held up by a buttery, crumbly (but not too crumbly) shortbread crust. I used meyer lemons, of which I happen to be inordinately fond. But plain lemons would be more than fine. 

These just might give your old stand-by lemon bar recipe a run for its money.

15 comments:

  1. Is that pretty or what? Ina's recipes are great then tweked by a superblog, made even better.

    This is just kind of dessert that I eat right over the kitchen sink.

    Velva

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  2. Nothing better than an Ina recipe. I'll have to try Deb's version. We adore lemon bars and they freeze amazingly well. I made a new one recently with a rosemary crust. Liked it best of all.

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  3. Velva: That is exactly how I ate several of these bars...

    Barbara: I've never tried freezing them--but what a good idea! Even a half recipe was kind of a lot for two people.

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  4. Have I ever eaten lemon bars? I don't think so. Must try.

    And, btw, you asked about dogs on the Tennessee Valley trail - the signs say "no dogs" but every time I have walked that trail, I have seen dogs with their owners. On leash is a good idea as there really are bobcats and the occasional cougar out there.

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  5. I am always looking out for the ULTIMATE lemon bar! I made Ina's before but wasn't sure I liked the flour quantity. I was using one from Gourmet magazine/Sara Moulton with a large amount of lemon but recently switched to an Emily Luchetti recipe with even MORE lemon! And always a Martha recipe for the crust. But may have to try this now (ie. really just looking for an excuse to make/eat lemon bars!) - Pete

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  6. Zoomie: never had a lemon bar? My goodness. YOu must remedy this. Thanks for the follow up on the TV trail--we shall check it out!

    Pete: Well, I really liked these, but I'm not super picky about lemon bars. As long as the crust is good and the filling not overly sweet, I'm basically satisfied. These are better than all the other ones I've made though.

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  7. Oh boy, I've had a bunch of Meyer lemons in my kitchen this past week. Now I have to make this! Although, have to say, I love lemons so I may not make the thinned out layer, and may go full hog on the lemon to crust ratio. (2 to 1 for me!) Thanks for the reminder about lemon bars. I love them! Bette's Ocean Diner makes the best, more cake like, and I've been looking for a recipe in that range for awhile but no luck. :(

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  8. I don't eat dessert, but I adore lemon bars. And I've got a little Meyer bush full of ripe specimens. Do the math. :)
    Thanks for your report; the tweaks make it sound like a recipe that would work for me.

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  9. Ben: Give the recipe a go, and if you do, let me know how you like the full-lemon version. I am sure it is delicious!

    cookie: no dessert? I don't understand...

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  10. Yeah... No sweet tooth. It's silly, but it keeps me thin!

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  11. I love how you inspire me to try new things. I'm attempting these for the first time to serve after a port tasting evening tomorrow. We're also dishing out the favorite cardamom cookies with Strauss vanilla ice cream. Yum. Thanks for always keeping me inspired and pushing my baking comfort zone!

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  12. cookie: I guess that would the upside!

    ash: Oh, you're sweet. Thank you! Let me know if you like how the lemon bars turn out. xo

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  13. Same here, I don't really read the other superblogs but I have definitely tried my hand at a few SK recipes that always turn out really well. The lemon bars look lovely and luscious :)

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