I’m just going to lay this one on you. I don’t like Meyer lemons. I know, I know. “But they are soooo fancy!” I used to fall in to this trap of agreeing with “them” that everything that was fancy and trendy was also tasty to me. But the facts are this: every time I bake with Meyer lemons, I’m disappointed. Here are my grievances:
1. Too floral.
2. Too soft.
3. No acidity.
Meyer lemons might have their place in the world… but I just love a regular lemon.
Sour, bite, tart, bright.
Okay, end confession. Bake these lemon bars. These are made with REAL lemons. And there is just no substitute for that.
So I thought I would follow the internet, and try some vegan lemon bars. (you might notice a lighter colored bar in the photo below.) Guess what? It was terrible. If you can’t have real eggs, don’t bother. There are some things tofu can never be.
- Crust:
- 1 cup flour
- ½ cup butter
- ¼ cup powdered sugar
- Filling:
- 2 eggs
- 1 cup sugar
- ½ tsp baking powder
- ¼ tsp salt
- 2 tablespoons corn starch
- ½ cup lemon juice (about 1 and ½ lemons)
- 2 tablespoons lemon zest (from 1 and ½ lemons)
- Heat oven to 350 degrees. Butter and either sugar or flour an 8x8x2″ square baking dish.
- Blend flour, butter and powdered sugar throughly with your fingers until it looks like cracker crumbs, and the mixture feels like semi-wet sand in your hands. When you press some dough in your hand, it should mostly clump together. Press the dough into an 8x8x2″ pan.
- Bake 20 minutes until very ever so lightly browned on the edges. Take it out and let it cool completely on wire rack.
- Put the rest of the ingredients into a medium bowl and beat with a mixer on low/medium until incorporated.
- Pour over the crust and bake 20 minutes. DO NOT OVERBAKE! Cut into 16 small squares, or 9 large squares.