Luscious Lemon Bars

I have a confession to make:  I. Love. Lemon desserts!   Not the artificial flavored junk, but the real lemony goodness of fresh lemons mixed into butter and sugar to create delicious confections that taste like sunshine. 

Searching Pinterest yields numerous lemon bar recipes all claiming to be "the best ever,"  it is confusing and enough to make my head swim.  They are all fairly similar but nothing striking.   It is rare for me to find a lemon dessert that is lemony enough for me, but this one has achieved that lemon level. I pulled some unique bits from various recipes and added more lemon plus a special ingredient of my own; and while I can't definitively claim these are "the best" recipe out there I can claim they are everything I think a lemon bar should be: sweet, tangy, creamy, chewy and most importantly yummy! 

Luscious Lemon Bars 

Ingredients:

Crust:

2 sticks of butter - chilled 
1/4 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup powdered sugar
1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
1-2 Tablespoons lemon zest 
2-3 drops lemon doTERRA essential oil*
2 cups flour
1/4 teaspoon salt 

Filling:

6 eggs 
1-2 Tablespoons lemon zest
1 cup fresh lemon juice
2-3 drops lemon doTERRA essential oil* 
3 cups sugar
1/2 cup flour 
1 1/2 teaspoon baking powder 

fresh raspberries (optional) 

powdered sugar

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350

Cut the butter into pieces

Using an electric mixer cream sugars into the butter

Add the vanilla, lemon zest, lemon essential oil

Blend a bit longer, until thoroughly mixed

Add flour and salt 

Continue mixing until well blended and smooth

Press into a "bar pan" (10x15) size pan covering the bottom of the pan 

Bake for 15 minutes.

Meanwhile beat the eggs until frothy

Add lemon zest, lemon juice, and lemon essential oil while mixing 

Reduce mixer speed slightly and add sugar, mix well

Combine flour and baking powder together, then add to the mixture

Increase speed and beat until very smooth, about three minutes

With the crust on the oven rack (to prevent the filling from spilling during transfer) pour the filling into the crust 

If you are using raspberries gently fold them into the mix just before pouring onto the crust. You may need to move them evenly over the crust 

Bake for about 45 minutes until the filling is golden and firm.

Remove from the oven and allow to cool completely 

Sprinkle with powdered sugar 

Cut into squares and enjoy!  

Tips and Hints 

• *The only essential oils I can recommend for this recipe are doTERRA which is Certified Pure Tested Grade and approved by the manufacturer for internal use.  Most (if not all) other brands contain synthetic components and should not be consumed.  If you don't have access to doTERRA lemon essential oil you can skip adding the oil, but you'll have less intense lemon flavor.
• You can use a 9x13 pan but I prefer the thinner and more plentiful squares 
• You can use strawberries or blueberries in place of the raspberries

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