Lemon Poppy Seed Bars
These soft and chewy lemon poppy seed bars are so delicious! They have just the right amount of lemon and sugar to create a harmonious balance.
Servings 9 bars
Ingredients
- 1/2 cup (1 stick) salted butter softened or melted
- 1 1/4 cup white sugar
- 1.5 tablespoons lemon juice freshly squeezed
- zest from one lemon (about 1 tablespoon)
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
Glaze
- 1 cup powdered sugar
- 1/2 tablespoon lemon juice freshly squeezed
- 1-2 tablespoons milk
Instructions
- Preheat your oven to 350?. Grease and/or line an 8x8 inch pan with parchment paper. Tip: leave extra parchment paper at the sides of the pan to lift and cut the bars later.
- Zest and juice a medium to large lemon. You’ll use about 1.5 tablespoons of the juice in the batter and an additional ½ tablespoon in the glaze. You should end up with about 1 tablespoon of zest from the lemon which will go into the batter.
- In a large mixing bowl mix together the softened or melted butter, sugar, 1.5 tablespoons of the lemon juice, lemon zest, and vanilla extract. You can do this by hand or with a stand or hand mixer. The batter is easily mixed with a wooden spoon, so I choose to mix this recipe by hand. The mixture should be uniform and smooth.
- Add in the flour, poppy seeds, cornstarch, and baking powder. Mix the dry ingredients in until they are well combined. Don’t overmix the batter.
- Pour the batter into the greased and/or lined baking pan. Bake in the oven at 350? for about 19-23 minutes. The edges will turn golden brown when ready. The bars will set more as they cool.
- When the bars are done in the oven, remove them and let them cool for about 15-20 minutes. Pour the glaze onto the top of the bars and tilt the pan to cover the top evenly.Place the cookie bars on a cutting surface once cooled and cut them into 3x3 squares (9 total).