Lime Bars

These lime bars are based on my favorite recipe for lemon bars. A tangy, creamy filling is baked on a buttery shortbread crust for a deliciously lime dessert bar. Winter is citrus season, even though we often think of lemons and limes as “summer time” fruits.

If you’re lucky enough to have key limes, you can make key lime bars. I think these taste like mini key lime pie bars! Because this recipe uses simple ingredients, fresh limes are best, and impart a delicate lime flavor that can’t be matched. 

Ingredients for lime bars

Crust ingredients

• Flour
• Powdered sugar
• Unsalted butter
• Salt

Filling

• For best results us fresh lime juice. Don’t be tempted to use lime juice in one of those cute grocery store plastic limes. Regular limes are easy to get and you only need a few. 
• Eggs
• Sugar
• Flour
• green food coloring. This is optional, but because lime juice is nearly the same color as lemon juice, I use just one single drop of “grass green” food coloring for just a hint of pale green color.

Can I use Key lime juice?

You can use fresh key limes for this recipe if you have them, with no additional changes.

How to make these easy lime bars

• Preheat oven to 325 degrees F. Prepare an 8″ by 8″ square pan by lining it with parchment paper or greasing it well.
• Make the shortbread crust by creaming the butter and powdered sugar together until light and fluffy in a stand mixer or with a hand mixer. Add the flour and salt and mix just until combined.
• Press or pat dough into bottom of the prepared pan.

•  Bake at 350* for 20 minutes or until barely golden.

• While crust is baking, prepare the filling. In the same mixing bowl you made the crust, (no need to clean it!) mix the  granulated sugar, 3 large eggs, 3 Tablespoons all-purpose flour, 1 /2 teaspoon Baking powder and 1/2 cup lime juice.

• Pour onto partially baked crust and return to oven for an additional 20-25 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the middle comes out clean, and center has a slight jiggle.

• The bars will continue to set after removing from oven. Cool completely. Cut into squares and dust with powdered sugar just before serving.

• Store lime bars in an airtight container.

Here are some tips for making the perfect lime bar: 

• Make sure all the ingredients are room temperature. This is a good rule in general when baking.
• Weigh your ingredients. A baking scale is very inexpensive and will guarantee success.
• When juicing the lemons, an electric juicer is nice, but a little hand held juicer works just as well and is very inexpensive. Zest some of the limes for garnish if desired.

• Line the glass baking dish with parchment paper. When the bars are done, you can easily lift them out for cutting.
• Pre-bake the shortbread crust just until barely golden.
• Don’t cut the bars right away. Let them cool completely.
• If you’re not serving them right away, wait until just before serving to dust with powdered sugar. If you plan to freeze the lime bars, skip the powdered sugar until ready to serve.
• I like smaller portions, so this recipe, baked in an 8″ x 8″ baking pan, yields 16 bars. You can, of course, make larger servings.
• Garnish with fine lime zest and very thin wedges of lime if desired.

How Do You Store Lime Bars?

Lime bars will last several hours out of the fridge, making them perfect for picnics or potlucks. They’re also a great addition to an Afternoon Tea. If you’re not serving or eating them until the next day, it’s best to refrigerate them.

You can also freeze lime bars and they will keep for 3-4 months. The best way to freeze them is to cut them into squares and place them on a baking sheet. Freeze for one hour, then wrap each bar tightly in plastic wrap and place them all in a freezer bag. 

Love citrus desserts? Here are some deliciously decadent options!

Here’s the Meyer Lemon Bar Recipe which I based this recipe on.

Lemon Posset is my most popular recipe and its sister, Lime Posset. I also have an Orange Posset recipe.