Christmas Cookie: Lemon Squares

There is not much time left to get your Christmas baking in.  I’ve been churning out my regulars this week but I wanted to add a new one to the rotation: lemon squares.  They are pretty popular any time of the year but I think they’re great around Christmas since they are a bit lighter than my normal Christmas cookies.  Lemon squares also provide a nice citrusy contrast to all of the chocolate and gingerbread cookies you’ll find on most cookie platters.  I brought some to the office the other day and received a lot of nice compliments on them!

This recipe comes from my mom’s book and she’s got a couple of lemon square/bar recipes in it.  I chose this one because it requires no special baking ingredients and uses real lemons for the topping.  You can also whip up a pan of these lemon squares in about an hour so if you have a party to go to and are out of ideas, make and bring these.  No need to chill any dough as it goes right into the pan and into the oven.  In fact, I believe I had to wait for the oven to finish pre-heating!  If your oven runs hot, like mine, keep an eye on things.  While they didn’t overcook, I think I could have done with 5 minutes less during the second bake.

Lemon Squares – makes one 9X12 pan

Dough

• 2 C flour
• ½ C confectioners sugar
• 2 sticks butter

Pre-heat the oven to 350°F.  Combine all the ingredients in a large mixing bowl and knead into a ball of dough.  Press the dough into a 9×12 baking dish so it is evenly spread.  Bake in the oven for 20 minutes.

While the bottom is baking make the lemon topping.

Topping

• 4 eggs, beaten
• 2 C sugar
• 6 Tbs lemon juice
• 4 Tbs flour
• ½ tsp baking powder

Blend the eggs, sugar, and lemon juice together.  The recipe says “fold in” flour and baking powder but I whisked them in so as not to get any clumps of flour.

Take the crust out of the oven after 20 minutes.  Pour the topping on the crust.  Continue to bake for 25 more minutes.  Remove from oven and place on rack to cool.

Sprinkle with confectioners sugar while still hot.  Cut and serve!