Meyer Lemon Brown Butter Bars

Meyer lemons are in season.  Oh how I love the sweetness and unique flavor of these beauties.  We have a meyer lemon tree in our backyard and this year it began to produce these little gems again.  I have to say, I thought the tree was done producing and to my surprise, it still had some life in it.  Yeah.

When a fellow food blogger and friend, Laura from Tutti Dolci created these Meyer Lemon-Brown Butter Bars, I had to make them.  I actually doubled the crust portion of the recipe, since that is one of my favorite parts and with the brown butter, the more the better.  Right?

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Yesterday was a perfect entrée day to spring here in the Bay Area.  The weather was simply perfect – near and perhaps a tad over 70 degrees.  Let’s just say the flip flops came out of hiding.  I took a quick trip up to Napa to attend the launch and book signing and cooking demonstrationfor Lindsay and Taylor’s new book – “Breakfast for Dinner”.  It was so wonderful to finally meet Lindsay in person.  If you have not heard of it or grabbed your copy, I would encourage you to.  It is chalk full of great recipes that are classic but have a spin and twist added.  As I turned the pages, I kept adding to my list of “must make” soon.

What would a trip up to Napa be without a stop to Bouchon Bakery?  I stood in line for close to 25 minutes but the time spent in line was certainly worth it.  I picked up some goodies for hubby and myself.  For hubby, a couple large linzer heart cookies and for me, a couple Bacon Cheddar Scones – okay – that scone was something that was made in heaven. Each bite was outright delightful.  Luckily, I have the new Bouchon Bakery cookbook and the recipe is included.  Expect a post soon.  Smile.  Until then, enjoy these wonderful bars – you won’t be disappointed.  Thank you Laura!

Meyer Lemon-Brown Butter Bars

Crust
1 cup unsalted butter
2 cup flour
2/3 cup powdered sugar
1/4 tsp salt

Filling
2 large eggs
2/3 cup sugar
1 1/2 Tbsp Meyer lemon zest (zest of 2 lemons)
1/3 cup fresh Meyer lemon juice
2 Tbsp flour
pinch of salt
Powdered sugar, for dusting

Cook butter in a heavy saucepan over medium heat, stirring constantly until it foams, turns clear, and then turns a deep brown, about 6 minutes. Pour browned butter into a glass bowl and chill in the freezer until solid, about 30 minutes.

Preheat oven to 350°F and line an 8-inch baking dish with parchment paper. Whisk together flour, powdered sugar, and salt in a medium bowl. Dice solidified brown butter into 1/2-inch pieces; sprinkle over flour mixture and use a pastry cutter or your fingers, until mixture resembles coarse meal. Add dough to prepared baking dish; use a piece of parchment to press dough into an even layer. Bake for 23 minutes, until crust is lightly golden.

Meanwhile, prepare filling. Lightly whisk eggs in a medium bowl. Whisk in sugar, lemon zest, lemon juice, flour, and salt until smooth. Reduce oven temperature to 325°F and slowly pour filling over hot crust; return dish to oven and bake until filling is firm, about 22 minutes. Cool completely in dish on wire rack, then cover and place in the refrigerator until chilled.

Carefully lift parchment to remove bars from dish and place on a cutting board; cut into squares using a sharp knife and dust with powdered sugar just before serving. Store leftover bars in an airtight container in the refrigerator up to 3 days.  Makes 12 to 16 bars, depending how you cut them.

Adapted from Tutti Dolci