Summer treats

There was a nasty heat wave last week, complete with temperatures near 100 degrees and humidity near 100 percent. Also, an air-conditioning snafu in my car. But that's beside the point. Because this is coastal Virginia, the heat wave came to an abrupt and very welcome end the other evening in a string of spectacular thunderstorms that raked the beach and the city and the cow pastures alike. Before the storms, though, I closed the blinds to keep the house cool and baked lemon bars after brewing a pitcher of iced tea. If you're not familiar with the American South (very different from a South American... ), you may not know the refreshing joy of a glass of iced tea and a lemon bar on a hot, hot day. There's something about citrus that cuts through the heat and humidity. Unlike most southerners, I don't make my iced tea super-sweet, but these lemon bars more than make up for that!



Without exception, I grease my pans with vegetable shortening. It contains less moisture than butter, so it won't alter the texture of your baked goods.



Look at all that buttery-sugary goodness.



Mixing. Not quite there yet...



The crust dough should look like a thick paste.



Mmm. Pasty.



Make sure you spread the dough evenly.



I had to resist taking a taste of the freshly browned shortbread crust. Mmm.



Ingredients for a delicious custard.



The custard is really thin before you bake it.



Just go ahead and pour it on the warm crust.



The custard will be just about as thick as the crust.



Browned again. Resisting a taste-test again.



Yes, it's an old sieve. But it works.



Finished bars. Don't you want to dig in?

I swear I took pictures of the bars once I'd cut them, but my old memory card gobbled them up the way my mom and my friends and I gobbled up the lemon bars!

Lemon bars

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.

For crust, cream together 1 cup of softened butter, 1/2 cup powdered sugar, and 2 cups flour. Press this mixture into a greased 9"x13" pan. Bake for 15-20 minutes, or until golden.

The best thing to do here is to wash the dishes you just used while the crust is baking. Then you can start making the filling when the crust comes out of the oven. For the filling, beat together 4 eggs, 4 tbsp lemon juice, 2 cups granulated sugar, 4 tbsp flour, and 1/4 tsp salt. Pour on top of the crust and bake for another 20-25 minutes, until evenly browned. Cool and sprinkle with powdered sugar.

Now, because this is an egg-based custard, I should tell you to keep the lemon bars in the fridge after they've cooled in the pan. This advice never goes into effect in my house, though, because the lemon bars disappear before they have a chance to turn.

Notes: I haven't attempted to veganize this recipe (which would make my grandmother's ashes swirl in their urn), but I imagine that margarine and Ener-G would indeed work just fine. Also, try substituting lime juice for lemon juice. Yum!