Instructions

1. Preheat the oven to 325°F (163°C). Line the bottom and sides of a 9×13 glass baking pan (do not use metal) with parchment paper, leaving an overhang on the sides to lift the finished bars out Set aside.
2. Make the crust:Mix the melted butter, sugar, vanilla extract, and salt together in a medium bowl. Add the flour and stir to completely combine. The dough will be thick. Press firmly into prepared pan, making sure the layer of crust is nice and even. Bake for 20-22 minutes or until the edges are lightly browned. Remove from the oven. Using a fork, poke holes all over the top of the warm crust (not all the way through the crust
3. Make the filling:Sift the sugar and flour together in a large bowl. Whisk in the eggs, then the lemon juice until completely combined.
4. Pour filling over warm crust. Bake the bars for 22-26 minutes or until the center is relatively set and no longer jiggles. Remove bars from the oven and cool completely at room temperature. I usually cool them for about 2 hours at room temperature, then stick in the refrigerator for 1-2 more hours until chilled. Recommend serving chilled.
5. Once cool, lift the parchment paper out of the pan using the overhang on the sides. Dust with confectioners’ sugar and cut into squares before serving. For neat squares, wipe the knife clean between each cut. Cover and store leftover lemon bars in the refrigerator for up to 1 week.

1. Whisk the flour, cornstarch, baking soda, and salt together in a medium bowl. Set aside
2. In a large bowl using a hand mixer, beat the butter and granulated sugar together on medium-high speed until creamed, about 1 minute. Add egg, lemon juice, lemon zest, and vanilla extract and beat on high speed until combined, about 1 minute. Mixture will appear curdled and that is what you should expect. Scrape the sides and up the bottom of the bowl. Add in flour mixture and beat on low speed until fully combined. Dough will be thick, creamy, and sticky.
3. Cover dough tightly and chill in the refrigerator for at least 3 hours and up to 3 days. Chilling is mandatory to ease the dough when forming the cookies.
4. Remove cookie dough from the refrigerator after it has chilled longer than 3 hours or more.
5. Preheat oven to 350 °F (177°C). Line baking sheets with parchment paper. Set aside.
6. Roll in sugar: Scoop and roll balls of dough, about 1 tablespoon of dough formed into a round ball. Roll them very generously in the confectioners’ sugar. If you wish to have the sugar appear visibly on the baked cookies, roll numerous time (2-3x) in sugar.
7. Bake the cookies for 12-13 minutes or until the edges appear set and the center still look soft.
8. Cool cookies for 5 minutes on the baking sheet and then transfer to a cooling rack to cool completely. (Cookies will slightly deflate as they cool)
9. Cookies will stay fresh covered at room temperature for up to 1 week.