Meyer lemon bars are a taste of summer, enjoyable any time of the year!
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. Everyone contributes, and I often bring my Notting Hill Brownies or Pasta Salad. Amy brings her famous lemon bars! (This post contains affiliate links) This post was originally posted on January 31, 2012.
As long as we’ve known her, the girls have been calling her, “Lemon Bar Amy”, because of her delicious Meyer lemon Bars.
When Spencer and I moved into our first house in Pasadena, 18 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 ago, 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 this house 11 years ago, I had to plant a Meyer lemon tree, even though we already had a huge Eureka lemon tree.
The difference between the two is easy to discern. A Meyer lemon has thinner, deep yellow skin, that almost looks like an anemic orange. Its juice is sweeter and yields more juice. A Eureka is more common lemon, easier to zest, with thicker skin. It’s more tart and yields less juice. I think it’s also much prettier!
I’m not sure why lemons are associated with summertime, because most citrus is in season during the winter. I just leave the lemons on the trees and just pick as needed. Since the Meyer tree is younger, it’s not as prolific as the more mature Eureka, so when it’s Meyer season, I try to take advantage of them!
Meyer lemon bars are a perfect use for the deliciously sweet Meyers.
Some of the items used in this post are available here for your convenience, at no cost to you.
- 1 cup flour
- 1/2 cup powdered sugar
- 1/2 cup butter
- Filling
- 1 cup granulated sugar
- 2 eggs beaten
- 2 tablespoons flour
- 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
- juice of one medium Meyer lemon
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Grease or line pan with parchment. Cream butter and sugar together. Add flour, mix just until blended. Pat into a 8"X 8" pan. Bake at 350* for 20 minutes or until barely golden
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Blend filling ingredients together.
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Pour onto baked crust and return to oven for an additional 20 to 25 minutes at 350*, or until a toothpick inserted in the middle comes out clean. Cool completely. Cut into squares and dust with powdered sugar.
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(To double batch, bake in a 13"X 9" pan)
Amy says
January 31, 2012 at 4:49 pmWow! 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
January 31, 2012 at 6:38 pmYou’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
February 12, 2012 at 11:38 amAm I to assume that the one cup of flour is also creamed together with sugar and butter to make the crust?
Cynthia says
February 12, 2012 at 5:34 pmYes! Recipe ammended!
Melissa @Red, White and Blueberries says
February 19, 2013 at 2:02 pmI LOVE meyer lemons! Thanks for dropping these by the Favorite Things party!
Johmmie Jenkins says
April 11, 2013 at 7:53 pmI MUST try the lemon bars. They sound so easy!
Cynthia says
April 12, 2013 at 3:06 pm@Johmmie, They are easy! Let me know how they turn out!
Del's cooking twist says
February 17, 2014 at 1:54 amI love lemon and these lemon bars look really good. I’ve got to try the recipe!
Cynthia says
February 18, 2014 at 5:28 pmthey are tasty! do you have a lemon tree?
Megan Keno {Country Cleaver} says
July 16, 2015 at 3:53 pmAbsolutely love lemon – these look great!
Cynthia says
July 16, 2015 at 6:21 pmThanks Megan! Everyone seems to love lemon bars!
Steph @ Steph in Thyme says
July 18, 2015 at 4:50 amI would love to have a lemon tree in my yard – how glorious!
Cynthia says
July 20, 2015 at 1:07 pmdefinitely an advantage to living in southern california steph!
cristina says
July 18, 2015 at 10:58 pmI’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
July 20, 2015 at 1:07 pmwhen 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
July 19, 2015 at 9:09 amLemon bars are one of my absolute favorites! So pretty, so easy and I love the idea of using Meyer lemons!
Cynthia says
July 20, 2015 at 1:05 pmcarol, either lemon works great…meyers are just a bit sweeter.
Kimberly @ The Daring Gourmet says
July 19, 2015 at 12:43 pmLemon 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
July 20, 2015 at 1:03 pmKimberly, 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
July 19, 2015 at 4:07 pmLemon bars are one of my favorites, so fresh and tart. My mouth is watering thinking about these!
Cynthia says
July 20, 2015 at 1:04 pmChristy, they are a great little bite!
Brandie @ HomeCookingMemories says
July 19, 2015 at 5:48 pmOne 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
July 20, 2015 at 12:59 pmyes, 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
July 19, 2015 at 5:48 pmClassicly wonderful!
Cynthia says
July 20, 2015 at 1:00 pmYes, lemon bars are a classic recipe!
Brandon @ Kitchen Konfidence says
July 19, 2015 at 10:15 pmMmmm, I love meyer lemon anything, so I know I would love these. Beautiful!!
Cynthia says
July 20, 2015 at 1:00 pmI’m fortunate to have both a meyer and eureka…the best of both worlds!
Taylor Kiser says
November 11, 2016 at 3:54 pmThese look perfectly delicious! Wish I had a couple of these right now!
Cynthia says
November 13, 2016 at 8:27 pmhaha! Me too Taylor!
Jessica @ A Kitchen Addiction says
January 13, 2017 at 8:39 amLemon bars are a favorite around here! These bars would disappear in no time!
Cynthia says
January 13, 2017 at 5:53 pmYes! They disappear quickly here too!
Patricia @ Grab a Plate says
January 13, 2017 at 6:25 pmI 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
January 16, 2017 at 2:06 pmThank you Patricia! I know what you mean! We’re so lucky to live in Southern California with our wonderful produce!
ruth copeland says
January 15, 2018 at 4:38 amWhy do you line the container w parchment paper AFTER the crust has been baked..see #2
Cynthia says
January 15, 2018 at 5:45 pmgood catch. I recently changed recipe programs. You are correct, line it before! Amended. Thank you.
nannyjt says
February 11, 2018 at 5:20 amwondering 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
February 11, 2018 at 10:28 amIt’s definitely not mushy…In fact, prebaking does just the opposite. It keeps the crust from getting soggy.
Ivy says
September 22, 2018 at 7:51 pmHi. 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
September 27, 2018 at 6:25 pmI 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
March 6, 2019 at 4:23 amLemon Meyer making with the guidance of your providing is really easy & really I make for my family members.
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Cynthia says
March 9, 2019 at 10:08 amawesome! Thanks for writing.