Well, looks like after all that anticipation, we’ve finally come down to the last day. As I’m sure you’re busily packing up flashlights, blankets, matches and other supplies you’ll need as well as building makeshift shelters for the apocalypse, there’s one thing you definitely don’t want to be without: lemon squares! These mouthwatering squares have both a sweet, crumbly bottom and a tangy, sticky layer on top.
Lemon squares are an important part of my holiday celebrations because even for the culinary-challenged like myself, they’re fast and easy to make and leave people wanting more. But hurry and stock up on your lemon squares now. Think about it this way, if lemon squares are one of the last things you eat, at least it’s something sweet and delicious. And, if we do somehow survive the end of the world, you’ll have plenty of sweets to go around!
Here’s my mom’s recipe for lemon squares. The sugar, amount of lemons, butter etc. can all be adjusted.
Lemon Squares
Ingredients:
Base:
2 sticks (1 cup) of butter at room temperature
½ cup of sugar
2 cups of flour
½ teaspoon of baking powder
Lemon top:
4 eggs
1 ⅓ cups of sugar
½ teaspoon of baking powder
⅓ cup of squeezed lemon juice (from 1-2 lemons)
1 tablespoon of lemon peel or lemon zest
¼ cup of flour
Directions:
For the base:
Preheat the oven to 330°F. Put the butter in large mixing bowl and beat with mixer until it has a whipped texture. Add the sugar, flour and baking powder and mix. Put the ingredients into a 13″x9″x2″ baking pan and spread well. Place the pan in the oven for 15 minutes. Take it out and allow it to cool down.
For the top:
Take another clean mixing bowl and add eggs. Use a clean mixer to beat the eggs. Add sugar, baking powder, lemon peel/zest, lemon juice and flour and mix well. Mix the ingredients at the highest speed for one minute. Pour this mixture on top of the base and spread it out. Put the pan back into the oven (330°F) for 30-35 minutes until the top is lightly yellow. Allow your creation to cool down before cutting and eating the lemon squares.