Olive Oil, Lemon Bars
Something I love about living in California is the number of fruit trees. You will find oranges, lemons, limes, and figs casually hanging above many local yards. Recently, one of William’s coworkers brought us a few, fresh lemons. The timing was convenient, seeing as I had been craving lemon bars for awhile.
I follow the New York Times on Facebook and they had just posted a link to a lemon bar recipe. I will not lie, that recipe influenced not only my cravings but also this recipe! We pretty much followed the NYT to a tee, so if you’d like to see their video, it is linked here. I will admit that this is one of the only times when I do not approve the use of added salt. For some reason I can’t handle salt on lemony things that should be sweet, sugary, and tart! I want that tartness and that sweetness! We took the extra salt out, but added a savory note with a garnish of fresh rosemary. You might try adding rosemary-infused olive oil as well, if you’d like to balance out the sweetness, but I am not convinced that salt will do that here.
The crust is a buttery, melt-in-your-mouth, shortbread dough (very similar to the pâte brisée that I use with the tomato tart). We followed her recipe anyway, and it worked fine!
I hope you all enjoy this as much as we did! (It can be stored on a platter for several days in the refrigerator, though the yolky flavor will come out more with each passing day.)
Olive Oil + Lemon Bars
Ingredients
For the crust
- 10 tablespoons cold, salted butter cut into 1″ cubes
- 1 1/4 cups flour we used 00″, AP should work here too
- 5 tablespoons white sugar
- 2 tablespoons confectioner’s sugar
- 1 teaspoon lemon zest
- 1/4 teaspoon kosher salt
For the curd
- 5 lemons for 1 tbs zest and 3/4 cup juice
- 1 1/2 cups white sugar
- 2 eggs
- 2 egg yolks
- 1 1/2 teaspoons corn starch
- 4 tablespoons salted butter
- 1/4 cup olive oil or rosemary infused oil
- confectioner’s sugar and fresh rosemary to top
- food processor recommended
Instructions
Make the crust
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Combine the cold butter cubes, the flour, sugars, lemon zest, and salt into the bowl of a food processor. Pulse until a crumbly dough forms.
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If the dough is a bit too crumbly to be pressed together, add ice water 1 teaspoon at a time until the correct consistency is achieved. Dough should have a wet mealy texture.
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Prepare the pan for baking. Lay a rectangle of parchment paper inside a 9×9 pan, so the paper hangs from two edges. This will help in lifting the bars out of the pan without damaging them.
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Preheat the oven to 325F and press the dough into the prepared pan to create a uniform, even surface.
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Bake for 30 minutes.
Prepare the curd
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Measure out all ingredients prior to cooking, and be sure they are easily accessible. Prepare a strainer above a large bowl.
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Whisk together the lemon juice, eggs, sugar, and cornstarch in a pot over medium heat. Stir frequently until the liquid reaches boiling.
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The second you see bubbles from boiling, remove the mixture from the heat to avoid curdling the eggs. Strain the mixture into a large bowl and whisk in the lemon zest and olive oil.
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When the crust is done baking, pour the curd over it and spread until it forms an even layer.
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Bake for 10 minutes.
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Refrigerate until the bars are completely cooled. [This could be several hours.]
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Once cool, remove from the pan using the parchment paper and cut into small squares. [A 5 x 4 grid will allow for 20 small servings.]
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Sift powdered sugar on top and garnish with rosemary.
