What do you do when you have too many lemons leftover from something else? Make lemon bars! This recipe uses just 1 1/2 lemons, so you can use any other leftover lemons to make lemon syrup or lemon cordial.

This heirloom recipe comes from Mary Merrill who added it to The Woodland Chapel Cookbook, printed sometime after 1988. Compared to a lot of other people whose recipes in that cookbook I’ve shared on this site, I actually knew Mary Merrill. She was always a nice, friendly person at our church, a bit twee in her mannerisms, but generally well meaning, especially around kids.

She rode with my mom and I on a road trip once and cried out, “Ooh, look! Crocheted cows!” We were on the interstate, driving past a field with black cows. Crow-shade cows. I was too busy being a mortified teenager to appreciate her sense of humor, but she was tickled enough with this joke that she repeated it a few more times over the next several hours. To this day, I can’t see black cows and not think of this — and now, maybe you’ll think of it, too. Such may be her legacy, unless we can make it more about lemon bars.

2 c. + 4 tbsp. flour
1/2 c. powdered sugar
1/2 lb. butter (1 stick / 8 tbsp.), room temperature
4 eggs
2 c. sugar
1/3 c. lemon juice (3 oz. or 1 1/2 lemons)
zest of 1 lemon
1/2 tsp. baking powder

Preheat oven to 350F.

Blend 2 c. flour, the powdered sugar, and butter. Press into a 9 x 13 x 2″ pan. Bake for 10-15 minutes (Mary’s recipe calls for 25 minutes, but this browned a bit darker in the oven and the edges were a bit too overdone. Consider checking at 10-15 minutes and give it longer if you think it needs it.)

Mix the eggs, sugar, lemon juice, lemon zest, remaining flour, and baking powder.

Pour over the crust and bake at 350F for 25 minutes. Let cool completely.

Dust with powdered sugar.