Meyer lemon bars are a bright taste of summer, with a shortbread crust and deliciously tangy filling. These easy lemon bar recipe will be part of your baking repertoire for years to come.
This recipe comes to me from my friend, Amy. She’s been making Meyer lemon bars for our summertime concerts in the park for a long time. (This post was originally posted on January 31, 2012, and has been updated to contain nutritional information. As an Amazon Affiliate, I receive a commission on qualifying purchases.)
When Spencer and I moved into our first house in Pasadena, 27 years ago, we had several fruit trees, including this odd lemon-orange kind of tree. I had really wanted a grocery store lemon tree, with firm skinned lemons for zesting. I soon found out what we had was a Meyer lemon tree, instead of the Eureka, “grocery store”, variety.
A few years after that, the Meyer lemon craze took off and people back East were paying ridiculous amounts of money for a single lemon. I got so used to the super juicy, sweet Meyer, that when we moved to our new house 21 years ago, I had to plant a Meyer lemon tree, even though we already had a huge Eureka tree.
What’s the difference between Meyer Lemons and Eureka lemons?
The difference between the two is easy to discern. A Meyer lemon is a hybrid and has thinner, deep yellow skin, that almost looks like an anemic orange. (It’s a cross between a Mandarin and a lemon.) Its juice is sweeter and it yields more juice. A Eureka is more common lemon, easier to zest, with thicker skin, but yields less juice. It’s the one you are accustomed to seeing in the grocery store. I think it’s also much prettier!
When do Meyer lemons ripen?
While we usually think of lemons as “summer” fruits, Meyer lemons reach their peak during the cooler months, from November through March. While Eurekas are available year round, their season is from late winter to early summer. “Bearrs” lemons pick up where the other two varieties leave off and are most plentiful from July to December. Meyer lemons don’t do well in the cold, so grow primarily in California. For more about Meyer lemons, including caring or them, click on Everything You Need To Know About Meyer Lemons.
How to store Meyer lemons
The thicker skinned Eureka lemons will last a long time on the counter, but Meyer lemons don’t seem to last as long. I’m sure it’s because they have thinner skin. When I get more Meyer lemons than I know I’ll be able to use within a week, I prefer to refrigerate them.
Can you use any kind of lemon juice in these lemon bars?
Yes! This recipe will work with any kind of lemon juice. But bear in mind that these lemon bars are not quite as sour as traditional lemon bars because the juice is naturally not as acidic. If you prefer a tart lemon bar, you can adjust the amount of sugar and add less.
How do you store lemon bars?
Lemon bars will last several hours out of the fridge, making them perfect for picnics or potlucks. If you’re not serving or eating them until the next day, it’s best to refrigerate them.
Tips for making these lemon bars
Make sure all the ingredients are room temperature. This is a good rule in general when baking.
Weigh ingredients. A baking scale is very inexpensive and will guarantee success. This scale is under $15 and has over 88,000 4 star reviews.
Juicing the lemons. While an electric juicer is nice, this little hand held juicer is very inexpensive.
Line the glass baking dish with parchment. When the bars are done, you can easily lift them out for easy cutting.
Pre-bake the shortbread crust just until barely golden.
Don’t cut the bars right away. Let them cool completely.
If not serving them right away, wait until just before serving to dust with powdered sugar.
I like smaller portions, so this recipe, baked in an 8″ x 8″ baking dish yields 16 bars but of course, you can make larger servings.
Garnish with very thin wedges of Meyer lemon if desired.
Love lemon? This Lemon Posset is one of the easiest desserts ever! Lemon is the main ingredient in this Zucchini Ribbon Salad with Feta. Lemon Roasted Chicken
Meyer Lemon Bars
Ingredients
Crust
- 1 cup all-purpose flour (4.5 ounces)
- 1/2 cup powdered sugar (2.3 ounces)
- 1/2 cup unsalted butter room temperature
- pinch of kosher salt (omit if using salted butter)
Filling
- 1 cup granulated sugar
- 2 large eggs room temperature, beaten
- 2 Tablespoons all-purpose flour
- 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
- 1/3 cup Meyer lemon juice, about 2 large or 3 small (or a scant 1/2 cup)
Instructions
- Pre-heat oven to 350 degrees F. Grease or line pan an 8"X 8" glass baking dish with parchment.
- Cream butter and powdered sugar together until light and fluffy. Add flour, and mix just until blended. Pat into baking dish. Bake at 350* for 20 minutes or until barely golden
- In the same mixing bowl, blend filling ingredients together.
- Pour onto baked crust and return to oven for an additional 20 to 25 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the middle comes out clean. The bars will continue to set after removing from oven. Cool completely. Cut into squares and dust with powdered sugar just before serving. Garnish with very thin slices of Meyer lemon wedges.
- (To double batch, bake in a 13"X 9" pan)
Amy says
Wow! I’m honored! I’ve never see my lemon bars looking so beautiful…thank you for the tribute. I’ll have to try making them with the meyer lemons!
Cynthia says
You’re welcome! I have to say the Meyer version edged out the Eureka version by a nose in a side by side taste test!
Barb sefton says
Am I to assume that the one cup of flour is also creamed together with sugar and butter to make the crust?
Cynthia says
Yes! Recipe ammended!
Melissa @Red, White and Blueberries says
I LOVE meyer lemons! Thanks for dropping these by the Favorite Things party!
Johmmie Jenkins says
I MUST try the lemon bars. They sound so easy!
Cynthia says
@Johmmie, They are easy! Let me know how they turn out!
Tina Corbin says
It would be great to know a measurement for the lemon juice. Could you measure the amount of juice you get out of a medium Meyers lemon because I think mine are large and wouldn’t know how much to add to equal a medium.
Cynthia says
I will do that asap! I’m in the middle of a kitchen remodel and have no access to an oven at the moment. Thank you!
Cynthia says
right now I”m in the middle of a kitchen remodel and do not have access to my oven, but I will soon!
Del's cooking twist says
I love lemon and these lemon bars look really good. I’ve got to try the recipe!
Cynthia says
they are tasty! do you have a lemon tree?
Megan Keno {Country Cleaver} says
Absolutely love lemon – these look great!
Cynthia says
Thanks Megan! Everyone seems to love lemon bars!
Steph @ Steph in Thyme says
I would love to have a lemon tree in my yard – how glorious!
Cynthia says
definitely an advantage to living in southern california steph!
cristina says
I’m with you about not understanding why citrus is associated w/summer when their harvest season is in the winter. I didn’t realize it until I had my own citrus trees (also happily have both a Eureka and Meyers). This is a tasty recipe and makes good use of a Meyers! 😉
Cynthia says
when you grown your own fruits and veggies, you definitely have a different perspective. It drives me crazy when my husband buys tomatoes in the winter…I’d just rather not eat one then have an out of season tomato.
Carol Borchardt says
Lemon bars are one of my absolute favorites! So pretty, so easy and I love the idea of using Meyer lemons!
Cynthia says
carol, either lemon works great…meyers are just a bit sweeter.
Kimberly @ The Daring Gourmet says
Lemon bars were a childhood favorite and still are today. I’ve never made them with Meyer lemons but I can only imagine how heavenly they would be – I’m going to have to try it for sure!
Cynthia says
Kimberly, I’m fortunate enough to have both meyer and eureka trees! Both citrus have their advantages in flavor, depending on your mood!
Christy @ Confessions of a Culinary Diva says
Lemon bars are one of my favorites, so fresh and tart. My mouth is watering thinking about these!
Cynthia says
Christy, they are a great little bite!
Brandie @ HomeCookingMemories says
One of my kiddos have been asking for lemon bars for a while now, so this is perfect timing! Look wonderful and I really like that this is for an 8×8″ pan size too.
Cynthia says
yes, I don’t like to make too much dessert sometimes, because I’ll tend to eat it! This is perfect size for a small group!
Dorothy at Shockingly Delicious says
Classicly wonderful!
Cynthia says
Yes, lemon bars are a classic recipe!
Brandon @ Kitchen Konfidence says
Mmmm, I love meyer lemon anything, so I know I would love these. Beautiful!!
Cynthia says
I’m fortunate to have both a meyer and eureka…the best of both worlds!
Taylor Kiser says
These look perfectly delicious! Wish I had a couple of these right now!
Cynthia says
haha! Me too Taylor!
Jessica @ A Kitchen Addiction says
Lemon bars are a favorite around here! These bars would disappear in no time!
Cynthia says
Yes! They disappear quickly here too!
Patricia @ Grab a Plate says
I don’t think I’d survive without my backyard lemon tree! Been thinking of something to make with them, so your lovely recipe came at just the right time 🙂 Very nice!
Cynthia says
Thank you Patricia! I know what you mean! We’re so lucky to live in Southern California with our wonderful produce!
ruth copeland says
Why do you line the container w parchment paper AFTER the crust has been baked..see #2
Cynthia says
good catch. I recently changed recipe programs. You are correct, line it before! Amended. Thank you.
nannyjt says
wondering if anybody has used graham cracker crust in place of the original to make a more fibrous texture. I think baking crust and then putting liquid over it to 2nd bake tends to make crust mushy and not appetizing.
Cynthia says
It’s definitely not mushy…In fact, prebaking does just the opposite. It keeps the crust from getting soggy.
Kristine says
Like blind baking a pie crust.
Ivy says
Hi. I live in Hawaii and been having a hard time finding good lemons. They usually don’t have very much juice. If using concentrate? How much would I have to use for a double recipe? REALLY LOVE LEMON BARS…
Cynthia says
I am not sure. I’ve never used a lemon concentrate before. Are you talking about the bottled kind? I’ve actually never used it before as we have a lemon tree. I’ll bet the bottle will give quantities for real to bottled lemon juice.
Salman Khan says
Lemon Meyer making with the guidance of your providing is really easy & really I make for my family members.
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Cynthia says
awesome! Thanks for writing.
Nancy Rossini says
I found the crust to be too dry, crumbly & wouldn’t hold together unlike lemon bars I’ve made in the past. After checking the recipe I usually use, the powdered sugar was half of what you called for. Why use more sugar if you don’t have to is my motto. It also did not have flour in the filling (which I can taste). The filling was runny too. Sorry, I wanted to like these, but will go back to my old recipe.
Cynthia says
Hi Nancy, so sorry they did not work for you. I’ve been making them for years using this friend’s recipe and they’ve always turned out! Powdered sugar has corn starch in it, which could be why your filling was too runny! I am totally on team “less sugar”, you can also substitute swerve powdered sugar if you are really watching your sugar intake.
Lana says
The powered sugar goes into the crust or filling? I’m a little confused.
Cynthia says
Hi Lana,
I’ve gone ahead and separated the crust and the filling. The powdered sugar is for the crust. Let me know if it makes more sense now. Thank you,
Cynthia
Lana says
Thanks for the clarification and the quick response. I made it the other way cause I’m so used to mixing granulated sugar with butter but wanna do it again the right way, to see the difference, even though the first time was pretty delicious! Thank you!
Cynthia says
Hi Lana,
Sorry for the confusion. Your question made me go back and clarify for others as well. I also updated the nutritional information. Thank you! Cynthia
Bendetta says
Hi,
I just wanted to stop by and say I tried the recipe because it called for Meyer Lemons and is NEVER heard or seen an orange lemon before so I was delighted when I saw a recipe for it. I must agree with Nancy though. My bars were running after I baked fir 25 minutes so I returned to over another 10 minutes and they still were too soft in texture. So I then returned them for another 35 and they were perfect (thickly gelled looking) in texture. I’m wondering if this might be due to my glass container. . . Not sure
I can hardly wait to try these as I’ve always loved lemon bars and now I can make them myself. I’m going to experiment with later, if all goes well with these and make them gluten free!
Thanks for the recipe!
Bendetta says
Hi,
I just wanted to stop by and say I tried the recipe because it called for Meyer Lemons and I’d NEVER heard of or seen an orange-lemon before at the grocers and decided to pickup one. So I was delighted when I actually saw a recipe for it. I must agree with Nancy though. My bars were runny after I baked for the first 25 minutes so I returned to over for another 10 minutes and they were still too soft and hadn’t set. But I hadn’t realized this until having let them set out for almost half an hour to 45 minutes. So I then returned them to the oven for another 35 minutes and they were perfect inside (thickly gelled) in texture. I’m wondering though, if this was due to me using a glass container. . . not sure.
I first had written 9/26 that I could hardly wait to try these as I’ve always loved lemon bars and now I can make them myself. But it’s now 9/27 and I have tried them and they are really delicious. My edges are super dry but I’m thinking that’s because of all the cooking but it still has a wonderful buttery taste.
I’m going to experiment with the recipe later since this went very well and try making some gluten-free. I’m sure I can with some tweaking (using gluten-free flour in place of regular flour).
Thanks for the recipe!
Cynthia says
Hmm Bendetta, I’m not sure. I’ve made these dozens of times and used that baking time/temp. I’ve never had to bake them that much longer though. The only thing I can think of is that I didn’t write specifically how MUCH meyer lemon juice to use.
I will troubleshoot them again and measure out the juice. Hope that helps. And YES! I’d need to make a gluten free version!
Dieselle says
Please tell us exactly how much lemon juice to use as lemons vary in size. Tyia
Cynthia says
sorry Diselle, just seeing this! About a 1/2 cup! I’ll make a notation since all lemons are different in size and yield!
Cynthia says
you are correct! 1/2 cup. I’ve amended the recipe. Thank you!
Cyndy says
Nice recipe
Cynthia says
Thank you!
Claudia says
Best recipe I’ve had so far! I received so many compliments and recipe requests. This is a great recipe and it is easy! The crust turns out perfectly and is a great balance of crust and Lemon curd!
Cynthia says
Thank you Claudia! I appreciate it your kind commments.
Mike says
Wow, these lemon bars are truly amazing! I’ve harvested Meyer lemons from a tree where I’m staying this winter and made the bars three times so far in three weeks!
One interesting observation is the variety in the size of the lemons produced and that may be why others require longer baking. This tree offers lemons the size of grapefruits down to the size of mandarin oranges. That offers a whole lot of variety in the volume of juice produced.
Thanks again for the fantastic recipe!
Cynthia says
Thank you Mike! Yes, the meyers tend to yield a lot more juice!
Rachel says
My son’s girlfriend has celiac disease. I want to try this recipe with gluten free flour. Would it be a 1 to 1 ratio or do you recommend a particular flour substitute? Thanks
Cynthia says
Hi Rachel,if you buy a good gf flour, it should be 1 to 1. If she’s a celiac and you’re planning on doing a bit more baking, OR if you’d like to give her a little gift, make her a gluten free flour blend. Follow this post for my gf almond pound cake. I post a link to the Art of Gluten Free Baking. She has a flour blend, that to me, is nearly indistinguishable from regular flour.https://whatagirleats.com/gluten-free-almond-pound-cake/
Dora F. says
So glad you reshared this as I have so many lemons atm! These are sooo good!
Cynthia says
Don’t you love the flavor of the Meyer!?
Giftbasketworldwide says
Fabulous information! Thank You!!
Roxp says
Very good not overly sweet I used a combination of meyer lemon juice and regular lemon juice .
Cynthia says
so glad you liked them! A mixture of the two lemons is a great idea!
Jennifer W says
Simple recipe and everyone loved these! They didn’t last more than a day! I recommend using Meyer lemonade if you can, we had some fresh from our tree outside which made these another level!
Cynthia says
Thanks so much Jennifer! Glad you liked them!
Ginny says
I added some lemon juice to the crust recipe. I love the taste and consistency of the bars. It is a real winner and I shared with friends!!!
Cynthia says
ooh! I’ve never tried adding lemon juice to the crust! thanks for the tip!
Lou says
Can I freeze these?
Cynthia says
Absolutely! cover well and defrost in the fridge.
Robyn says
Super easy to make and absolutely delicious!
Cynthia says
thank you!
Jan says
Excellant
Cynthia says
thank you!
Pam says
You say in the beginning if you like your lemon bars more tart, DON’T adjust the amount of sugar. So what do you add to make them more tart?
Cynthia says
oops! Lol…I meant DO adjust the sugar! amended! Thx
joanne clemons says
Made this recipe with 2 Meyer lemons that my son brought back from a trip to San Diego. I don’t know if we can even buy such lemons in Maine where we live so this was a special treat. I don’t own a 8×8 glass pan so I used a metal one which worked fine. Delicious bars, tart but yet not too much so. And the shortbread crust is yummy as well.
Cynthia says
Aww! So glad you found Meyers! You can get them around the country, but outside of california, you’ll have to go to Trader Joe’s or Whole Foods.
Lois says
Really delicious. I got a Meyer lemon tree for Mother’s day last year, and finally had a few ready to pick, so this is what I made. I am in New England, so they don’t grow outside!
Cynthia says
They are a special lemon! That’s awesome!
Teresa says
This is the perfect recipe for my homegrown Meyer Lemon harvest. Simple and delicious. I doubled the recipe and used a 13×9 glass baking pan and the lemon bars turned out perfect! The crust was evenly baked and super crunchy which contrasted so beautifully with the soft, delicate lemon custard. I will sharing this recipe and making these again soon!
Cynthia says
Thank you so much for your review and kind words.