I have this lovely association of lemon bars with sunshine. It might have something to do with the fact that the recipe I have for lemon bars is titled “Sunburst Lemon Bars”. There is virtually no snow left here, save for a few sad-looking patches that are slowly meeting their demise. The warm air has given way to tremendous spring fever. All I can think about are the gorgeous days ahead, what I am going to plant in my garden, and how many great outdoor adventures we are going to have this year. The daydreams and sunlight inevitably brought me to these delightful treats, so I thought I’d take a moment to share some sunshine in the form of food.

These lemon bars are a favorite of mine. This was recently confirmed in a rather embarrassing manner. I have determined that these may, in fact, be my all-time favorite dessert bar. I know this because I may or may not have eaten a whole pan single-handedly (or is it single-mouthedly? *cringe*). If I were Superman, these would be my Kryptonite. I am happy to report that I did share some of the last batch with a dear friend and my husband ate one. (Yes, one. He loves me!) The rest I kept. All. To. Myself. I am not proud of this last maneuver. But I feel compelled to confess the possible danger these Sunburst Lemon Bars may create in the consumption zone. They are like little bites of sunshine. Truly. Lemon-filled sunshine. Drizzled with icing. They are good. You should make them. You should share them with friends, husbands, and even neighbors if you are feeling generous.

But, by all means, you should eat them.

You will cut a skinny sliver of a portion and tell yourself, “I’ll just have this skinny little sliver”. Then, a few minutes later, you will go back to the pan and tell yourself the same thing. You will repeat this process until there is nothing left in your pan but a faint hint of crumbs.

On second thought, it might be best to just invite me over to your house. I’ll bring my own fork and we can both eat straight out of the pan. We’ll throw proper manners right out the window. And we will be in lemon-filled, sunshine heaven. Bliss. Epic and wonderful bliss. All from a lemon bar! Oh the joy! It fills my heart (and belly) with gladness. I hope you enjoy these little delights as much as I do. Happy Lemon Sunshine!

Sunburst Lemon Bars

INGREDIENTS

Crust

2 cups all-purpose flour

1/2 cup powdered sugar

1 cup butter, softened

Filling

4 eggs

2 cups granulated sugar

1/4 cup all-purpose flour

1 teaspoon baking powder

6 Tbsp lemon juice

Glaze

1 cup powdered sugar

2 to 3 tablespoons lemon juice

DIRECTIONS

Heat oven to 350°F. In large bowl with electric mixer, beat crust ingredients on low speed until crumbly. Press mixture evenly in bottom of ungreased 13×9-inch pan. Bake 20 minutes or until light golden brown.  Meanwhile, in large bowl with wire whisk, lightly beat eggs. Beat in remaining filling ingredients except lemon juice until well blended. Beat in 6 Tbsp lemon juice.  Remove partially baked crust from oven. Pour filling evenly over warm base.  Return to oven; bake 25 to 30 minutes longer or until top is light golden brown.Cool completely, about 1 hour. (The waiting is the hardest part!)In small bowl, mix 1 cup powdered sugar and enough lemon juice for desired spreading consistency until smooth. Spread glaze over cooled bars. Cut into bars. Devour. Daintily, of course.

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