Everyone’s favorite dessert. OK, maybe not everyone’s favorite, but who doesn’t love old-fashioned lemon bars? 

Buttery shortbread crust topped with bright, lemony custard. It’s the perfect way to end my picnic in the park, so I searched through every vintage community cookbook I own, looking for the best recipe. And of course, every single cookbook had a version. Interestingly enough, it was pretty much all the same recipe repeated again and again. So, I guess that means the perfect lemon bar recipe was perfected long ago, which is no surprise. 

I chose Juanita Bowden’s recipe because she included lemon zest, and since I like my lemon bars extra lemony, her’s seemed best. And it absolutely was. Simple to make, and the ultimate crowd pleaser, Juanita’s lemon bars will never fail. So, let’s get to making them! 

The first step will be making the shortbread crust. Start by creaming butter in an electric mixer. The recipe is pretty sparse on instructions, which is pretty common in vintage recipes, but based on experience, I think it’s best to make sure the butter is well creamed before adding powdered sugar. Then, whip it a bit more before removing it from the mixer and adding flour. 

Mix the flour in until blended, but don’t worry if the dough is very crumbly and dry, it’s supposed to be. 

Transfer the dough to a casserole dish, and press the dough evenly across the dish. You’re going to bake the crust by itself for 15 to 20 minutes. 

While it bakes, we will get the custard ready. Lightly beat eggs in a large mixing bowl, then add lemon juice and zest. Give it a quick stir, then add flour, baking powder, and sugar. Mix everything together very well. 

The crust will be lightly golden brown around the edges, but not fully baked, so don’t worry about testing it, just pull it from the oven and pour the custard right over the hot crust. Pop it back in the oven for about 25 minutes. Lemon bars baking has to be one of the best smells in the world, so enjoy! Then you’re done! Just that easy. 

After it cools, dust the top with powdered sugar for that iconic lemon bar look. If you dust it when it’s hot, the steam may dissolve the powdered sugar, so make sure you wait. 

I am going to pack some up for my picnic, but I’m snagging a corner piece, or two, before I leave. Do you like the gooey center pieces? Or the chewy edges like me? 

As always, I am so so grateful that Juanita shared her recipe in her community’s cookbook so I could enjoy it so many years later. I hope it inspires you to save more of these vintage spiral bound community cookbooks and cook more old recipes.