I can’t believe I’ve not made a single lemon dessert this year. I used lemon glaze on my zucchini cake recipe and in focaccia, but that’s it. This week I decided to go all in on my favorite citrus fruit. I am a huge fan of sour things and always reached for sour gummy candy when I was younger (as well as chocolate). Lemon desserts are some of my favorites, next to chocolate and coffee. So, I decided to make simple lemon shortbread bars with a twist. Caramelized sugar on top and fresh mint in the shortbread crust.

Farmers Market Shopping

I started the week at the farmers market, like always, and perused the dwindling selection of local producers. The weather was markedly colder and gray compared to the sweltering sunshine of previous weeks. There were several tent-sized gaps in the common. I found peaches at the small wooden-box farm stand at the entrance and thought about using them again. I eyed raspberries and walked by a bakery stand with $4 bricks of brownies. Then I passed the artisanal vinegar spot and glanced towards the “chicken man” who sells pies and eggs, chicken salads, and raw meats.

Then, I visited the biggest farm stand with cornucopia of gorgeous produce. Zucchinis and corn. A rainbow of uniquely shaped tomatoes. Curvy sweet potatoes and green leafy things and crimson peppers shaped like witches fingers. Last week I paid for three large sweet potatoes for an upcoming recipe. They were in a bin next to those bright blue cardboard boxes of curated, orange spuds. 1 pound for $7.50. So, to avoid the hefty fee, I picked out three of my own from the mismatch pile.

Lemon Shortbread Bars + Fresh Mint

They rang in at $8.00. For 3 sweet potatoes instead of 5. Me being me, I politely handed over a 10 dollar bill and silently walked away frustrated. I may have been overcharged, but I was not in the mood to care or make a scene. So, I decided to only buy from the smaller vendors from now on.

So, after seeing bundles of $4 herbs at the bourgeois stand, I made my way to the friendly farmers who keep their produce in plastic crates with handwritten chalkboard signs and burlap backdrops. They wear tie dye and trucker hats and have beards and tattoos. I found mint and cilantro for $3 a bundle tucked into a corner.

By then I had realized that I wanted to make lemon shortbread bars. So I was searching for an herb to put in my shortbread crust. Rosemary was ideal. I had rosemary lemon cookies at work one summer in Boston that changed my life. But I was committed to being petty, and bought the $3 mint from the good guys. The $4 rosemary was probably half the size anyway.

Making Sharp Homemade Lemon Curd

I stopped at another store on the way home and picked up 3 huge lemons. Vibrant and yellow. I also bought a loaf of chocolate zucchini bread, which I toasted and paired with a little bit of peanut butter caramel from a scrapped recipe experiment from weeks ago. The caramel itself was amazing. Then, I put on my black Firenze apron from Italy and got flour, butter, eggs, lemons, and mint ready for lemon shortbread bars action.

I started by making shortbread. My tomato tart employs a slightly sweet shortbread crust to contrast the tart tomatoes and lemon. I love the texture and buttery flavor, which pairs so well with citrus and herbs. I chopped up my mint and decided to infuse it into my sugar with my mortar and pestle. Then I measured flour, butter, chopped mint, and got my hands dirty, throwing together a sandy start to my shortbread dough.

This recipe is one I use over and over, and my favorite part is adding an egg yolk at the end. The sandy dough immediately comes together into a pie-dough texture. In order to not overwork the dough, I Immediately stop mixing once it comes together. Next I lined my 9” x 9” square baking pan with parchment paper and pushed my shortbread dough into the bottom of the pan with my fingers. Once I had an even layer of mint-streaked dough,

Netflix Cooking Shows

I placed it in the fridge to chill for 30 minutes. I preheated the oven and took a break to watch a new cooking competition show on Netflix. 20 “white spoon” chefs in Korea, highly esteemed professional chefs, compete against 80 “black spoon” chefs, who are hungry to overthrow the more experienced and well-known chefs through culinary battles. It’s super creative and exciting so far. Of course I’m rooting for the black spoons.

Homemade Mint Shortbread

Once my dough had chilled, I baked it, and the house filled with one of my favorite smells. It creeps up on you – butter at first. Then savory, caramelized dough, herbs. If you could make it into a candle I would by a dozen. It came out (unevenly) golden brown and crisp, but I didn’t mind the unevenness. It would be topped with lemon curd, anyway, and I’m trying to be less of a perfectionist these days. I let it cool while I made my lemon filling.

I started by massaging lemon zest into sugar, which activates the oils in the zest and imparts more lemon essence into the recipe. Then, I cut and squeezed lemon juice from my three lemons into the pot. I added my egg yolks, eggs, and salt, and cornstarch. I whisked it together into a thin yellow liquid. Quickly I was stirring vigorously with a whisk over high heat as the mixture became viscous and silky. Deep yellow and custard-like. When it coated the back of a spoon, I took it off the heat and let it cool slightly. Then, I poured it onto my crust.

Simplicity is Key

Off into the oven the lemon shortbread bars went to finish cooking. Which only took about 25 minutes. When I pulled them out of the oven I realized one part of the parchment paper had folded over and stuck to the curd. It ripped off the top layer around the edges, but again, I’m not looking for perfection. I photographed my bars at sneaky angles to hide the imperfections before letting it chill. I covered the pan with plastic wrap and placed it in the fridge to set. While I waited, I thought back to my first blog attempt in 2017 when I graduated from college. It’s wild to think that was 7 years ago now. But I remember the passion I had for creating recipes at the time, bolstered by my newfound freedom from academics while I searched for jobs.

I made a set lemon dessert with coconut gel and raspberries and a tulle and caramelized white chocolate. It was way too complicated and while the components all paired well, it was busy and overworked. I’m realizing now how much I’ve grown to value simplicity. I still struggle with pairing back my ideas and focusing on flavor and execution. Sometimes I get swept up in grand ideas and artistic presentations. But my recipes are much more focused and simple now. I personally think simplicity key to the making the best food. And simplicity makes for a good life, too.

Caramelized Sugar on Top

Today my lemon bars were set and I cut them into thin, rectangular pieces. I tasted a bite of one and marveled at the tang. Almost on the verge of being too lemony. But on the side of still being delicious. The shortbread is tender and so buttery and carries a subtle herbaceous flavor. The lemon curd is sharp and citrusy and slightly buttery and velvety. After dusting powdered sugar on top, which quickly got sucked into the hydrated top of the curd, I experimented with caramelizing the sugar with a blow torch. It became like creme brûlée. The flavor of the amber sugar and slight crunch really put the lemon bars over the top.

I’m super happy with this recipe, and loved being able to finally make something to celebrate lemons. One of my favorite things to cook with. I’m thinking a lot more now about lemon recipes and have some ideas written down for the future. These are the perfect dessert for a lemon craving and are a zap of citrus, tempered by butter and shortbread, mint, and caramelized sugar. This is definitely my new go-to lemon shortbread bars recipe and I hope you get to try it!

Thank you as always for reading! If you enjoy my recipes and paintings, be sure to check out Etsy for 100+ art prints and recipe cards. Use code THEFORKEDRING for 25% off.

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Lemon Shortbread Bars with Mint

A tangy caramelized lemon bar recipe with fresh mint shortbread crust

Course Dessert

Cuisine American

Keyword lemon bars, lemon recipes

Prep Time 1 hour hour

Cook Time 1 hour hour

Servings 10

Author theforkedring

Ingredients

• 1 cup AP flour
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1 tbsp white sugar
• 1/4 cup fresh mint
• 8 tbsp butter softened
• 1 egg yolk
• 4 egg yolks + 2 eggs
• 1 tbsp cornstarch
• 1 1/4 cups granulated sugar
• 1/4 cup lemon zest
• 1 cup lemon juice
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 6 tbsp butter
• 1/3 cup powdered sugar

Instructions

• Preheat oven to 350°F.
• Combine 1 cup AP flour, 1/2 tsp salt, and a 3 tablespoons of fresh chopped mint in a large bowl.
• In a mortar and pestle, make mint sugar by mashing 1 tbsp white sugar with 2 tbsp fresh mint. Add to flour mixture.
• To your flour mixture, add 8 tbsp softened butter and mix with a fork until the dough becomes sand-like.
• Add an egg yolk and incorporate gently into the dough. Mix until it just comes together.
• Line a 9 x 9″ baking pan with parchment paper. Press your shortbread dough evenly into the bottom of the pan. Place in fridge to chill for 30 minutes.
• After chilling, bake crust for 30 minutes until evenly golden brown. Cool.
• To make lemon curd, start by mixing your lemon zest with your sugar in a large stock pot. Massage the zest into the sugar to release the oils.
• Add egg yolks, eggs, cornstarch, lemon juice, and salt and cook over medium-high heat. Whisk constantly until thickened (it should coat the back of a spoon).
• Remove curd from heat and add 6 tbsp butter. Whisk until cohesive. Then, pour your lemon curd mixture over your cooled mint shortbread.
• Cook the lemon bars for 20-25 minutes until mostly set and slightly wobbly in the center. Cool at room temperature until set.
• Place lemon bars in the fridge to set for a few hours or overnight. Then, slice and caramelize the tops with powdered sugar and a blowtorch.

Notes

• If you want to forgo caramelizing the lemon bars, simply dust with powdered sugar and serve. 
• You can experiment with using brown butter in both the shortbread crust and lemon curd in place of regular softened butter. Cook your butter until browned and let set at room temperature in a heat-proof cup until re-solidified and soft. 
• I used mint, but I highly recommend using whatever herbs you have in season, like rosemary, thyme, or basil.