Lemon Bars

After futilely raiding the cabinets for an evening snack, I pulled this recipe out of a Southern Living cookbook I got at a garage sale. When all was said and done, it was about 11 PM, so imagine my surprise when I got up the next morning to find that literally half of it was gone already. I think it's safe to say my family liked it; even my "I don't even want to smell it if it contains anything remotely resembling fruit" sister loved it. Although I've never made a tart-ish thing like this, it still turned out really well! It's 50% shortbread style crust and 50% creamy, delicious lemon filling. Maybe like .005% powdered sugar on top, if you're really counting. Apologies for the semi-vague picture, but there wasn't much left for a photo shoot!

Ingredients:
2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour, divided
3/4 cup sifted powdered sugar, divided
1 cup cold butter, cut up
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
4 large eggs, beaten
2 cups sugar
1/3 cup lemon juice

Directions:

1. Combine 2 cups flour and 1/2 cup powdered sugar. Cut butter into flour mixture with a pastry blender until mixture is crumbly. 
2. Spoon flour mixture into a 13 x 9-inch pan; press into pan evenly and firmly, using fingertips. Bake at 350 F for 20-25 minutes or until lightly browned.
3. Combine 1/2 cup flour and baking powder; set aside. Combine eggs, 2 cups sugar, and lemon juice; beat well. Stir dry ingredients into egg mixture, and pour over crust.
4. Bake at 350 F for 22-25 minutes or until lightly browned and set. Cool on a wire rack. Sprinkle with 1/4 cup powdered sugar, and cut into bars.

Source: Southern Living: All Time Favorites

A brief tangent - I can't even think of lemon bars without thinking of Nancy Drew, and since this is also a book blog, it all works out okay in the end. Nancy's housekeeper, Hannah, is apparently famous for her lemon bars, something that comes up in the 2007 movie when she randomly pulls them out of her bag in perfect little tins to distribute to unsuspecting informants. It's actually a pretty good movie, if a little cheesy. At the very least, it's got plenty of humor, some of which you can see in the trailer below.