Best Lemon Bars with Graham Cracker Crust
Lemon desserts are always a favorite, especially in the warmer months! However, these tart, yet sweet, Lemon Bars with Graham Cracker Crust are the perfect dessert for lemon lovers any time of the year!
Simple to make, these lemon bars contain fresh lemon juice, producing perfectly tangy mouth-watering deliciousness in every bite!
Lemon bars are excellent delicacies to serve at bridal parties, baby showers, church potlucks, or even holidays like July 4th!
Lemon bars are scrumptious on their own, but served with a dollop of whipped cream on top is like the icing on the cake!
However, served with or without whipped cream, you won’t regret this dessert that adds a little lemon zest and sunshine to your day!
Other desserts that you may enjoy are my Summery Peach Cobbler Pound Cake or my Simple Cheesecake Recipe without Springform Pan. I love treating my family to a deliciously sweet treat!
What Are Lemon Bars with Graham Cracker Crust?
Lemon Bars with Graham Cracker Crust are bars with a delicious blend of tangy, tart, and sweet flavors in the lemon curd topping, mixed with a sweet, buttery, and chewy graham cracker crust.
Topped with powdered sugar, there is a pleasant contrast with the yellow of the bar, and the sugar adds a nice extra pop of flavor!
Lemon bars are not as common of a dessert as other sweets, so they will be a pleasing and unique surprise! This lemon treat is a refreshing dessert that you will be excited to serve your delighted family and guests!
Why You’ll Love This Recipe
- The yellow lemon filling will bring a little bit of sunshine into your loved one’s day!
- Creamy lemon bars are a festive dessert to take for family or holiday gatherings!
- It will remind you of your grandma’s baking and bring back all of those nostalgic memories!
- These lemon bars combine different textures and tastes with a very pleasing result! The sweetness paired with the fresh lemon flavor are perfection.
- Lemon bars with graham cracker crust can be made two days ahead of when you need them. Just refrigerate them to avoid spoiling. When ready to serve, cut the creamy lemon squares and arrange them on a pretty platter.
Tell Me About this Lemon Bar Recipe
- Taste- Buttery, lemony, tart, tangy, and sweet perfectly describe each mouth-watering bite! Meyer lemons have the best flavor profile, but you can use whatever you have access to!
- Texture- One mouthful of these delicious bars reveals a chewy and light texture! With the buttery graham cracker crust on bottom and the lemon mixture on top, you get the perfect blend of chew and creaminess.
- Ease- Squeezing the lemons to extract the juice is the hardest part of this recipe. It’s very simple to prepare! If you are tight on time, make these easy lemon bars with pre-squeezed lemon juice.
- Time- It only takes about 20-25 minutes to make the graham cracker crust and the lemon curd filling. They bake for only 20 minutes or until done.
Ingredients For Graham Cracker Crust
- Butter- The melted butter holds the graham cracker crust together and adds a rich flavor.
- Sugar- This ingredient adds a slight sweetness to the crust.
- Salt- Salt adds flavor and brings out the flavor of the other ingredients.
- Graham crackers- The graham crackers are the main ingredient of the crust and also provide sweetness.
Ingredients For Lemon Curd Topping
- Eggs- Eggs provide the structure and firmness and also set the lemon curd.
- Sugar- Again, the sugar provides just the right amount of sweetness and thickness to the lemon mixture.
- All-Purpose Flour- Flour thickens and also solidifies the lemon curd together.
- Lemon Juice– The main ingredient of the whole dessert bar, lemon juice provides the mouth-watering zesty flavor.
- Confectioners’ sugar Top the bars with a sifting of powdered sugar.
Make Lemon Bars In 3 Easy Steps
- Make the graham cracker crust- After combining the graham cracker crumbs with the melted butter, salt, and sugar, press graham cracker mixture it into the prepared baking pan. Bake the crust for 10-15 minutes until it is golden brown. Press the graham crust with the back of a spoon or rolling pin.
- Make the lemon curd- Whisk the eggs and lemon juice together, and then whisk in the sugar and flour. Pour it over the baked crust.
- Bake- After 20 minutes of baking, you will have a delicious dessert that just needs to be cooled for an hour before cutting so the curd has time to set. Then sprinkle the lemon bars with powdered sugar.
Substitutions For Lemon Bars With Graham Cracker Crust
- Bottled lemon juice- You can use this if you don’t have fresh lemons, however, fresh is best! I recommend that you do use fresh lemons if at all possible.
- Limes– Believe it or not, limes can be substituted for lemons with the same amount used. They are considered to be the best substitute in place of lemons. The taste is very similar when used in the lemon bars.
- Graham Crackers– If you don’t have graham crackers on hand, you may use shortbread cookies, vanilla wafers, or even pretzels to make the crumb mixture.
Add-Ins For Lemon Bars
- Shredded sweetened coconut- If you are a coconut lover you can sprinkle shredded coconut on top before baking the bars.
- Vanilla Ice Cream– Top the lemon bars with a scoop of vanilla ice cream for a summery treat.
- Fresh Fruit- Add a spoonful of fresh fruit to the bars for a bit of extra flavor and color.
Tips For Making The Best Lemon Bars With Graham Cracker Crust
- Your lemon bars will be a pale yellow color so don’t worry if they aren’t a bright yellow. Some people add yellow food coloring to make them bright yellow.
- If you notice a white “film” on the lemon bars, that is perfectly normal. The eggs in the lemon curd create bubbles as they cook, which rise to the surface.
- You will know that your lemon bars are done by wiggling the baking dish after baking. If the lemon curd wiggles, it is done! It should not be runny.
- When squeezing your lemons to extract the juice, squeeze them over a strainer to catch the lemon seeds.
- When cutting the lemon bars, use a sharp knife and clean it off between cuts. You can also try running the knife under hot water to heat it up, and then dry it before cutting.
How Do You Store Lemon Bars?
Lemon bars with graham cracker crust should be stored in an airtight container in the refrigerator after cooling, unless you plan to eat them right away.
The lemon curd has eggs in it and you want to avoid spoiling.
You may freeze these classic lemon bars by cutting them into small squares so they are easier to thaw later. Wrap them in plastic wrap and them in aluminum foil to keep them from getting freezer burned.
Allow them to thaw at room temperature for an hour before serving.
They truly are one of those easy desserts you will go back to time and time again!
Frequently Asked Questions
Yes, you can bake them up to two days in advance!
Yes, they can be frozen for up to 3 months! Just cover them in foil and store in an airtight container. Make sure you don’t add the powdered sugar until after they are thawed.
Lemon Bars with Graham Cracker Crust Recipe
Lemon Bars with Graham Cracker Crust
Equipment
- 1 food processor
- 1 9 x 13 pan
Ingredients
Graham Cracker Crust
- 1 cup melted butter
- ½ cup sugar
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- 2 cups graham crackers, pulsed in food processor
Lemon Curd
- 4 large eggs
- 1½ cups granulated sugar
- ⅓ cup all-purpose flour
- ⅔ cups lemon juice
Instructions
Graham Cracker Crust
- Preheat the oven to 350°F and line a greased 9×13 pan with parchment paper.
- Pulse the butter, ½ cup sugar, salt, and graham crackers in the food processor until combined.
- Press the crust into the baking dish and bake for 10-15 minutes or until golden.
Lemon Curd
- In a medium bowl, whisk the eggs and lemon juice together.
- Add in the sugar and flour and whisk well.
- Pour over the baked crust and bake the entire dessert for 20 minutes.
- Allow the bars to cool for an hour before cutting.
- Sprinkle the bars with powdered sugar.
Notes
- Your lemon bars will be a pale yellow color so don’t worry if they aren’t a bright yellow. Some people add yellow food coloring to make them bright yellow.
- If you notice a white “film” on the lemon bars, that is perfectly normal. The eggs in the lemon curd create bubbles as they cook, which rise to the surface.
- You will know that your lemon bars are done by wiggling the baking dish after baking. If the lemon curd wiggles, it is done! It should not be runny.
