Lemon Bar (Brownies)

I am a great fan of brownies. Why? Because they are chocolaty, warm, gooey, and chewy; basically, comfort food. I stumbled across this recipe for lemon brownies when I looking through my old recipe files. My great aunt used to make these during Easter time. Us kids would eat as many as we could before getting caught.

These lemon bars are basically the same texture as a traditional brownie, but with an extra "Wow-wee"! 

Now, these brownies do not have cocoa or chocolate in them, so I have chosen to call them “lemon bars”, but they are the same gooey consistency of brownies with the sweet and sour tartness of lemons! I doubled this recipe because they did not last long in our family of five. These are lemon-y-licious!

Ingredients for the Lemon Bars:

• 1 ½ cups of all-purpose flour 
• ½ cup granulated sugar 
• 1 can of sweetened condensed milk 
• ½ cup of lemon juice – about 3 medium/large lemons 
• Zest from the three lemons 
• 1 large egg (discard the shell) 
• ½ teaspoon salt 
• ½ teaspoon baking soda 

Lemon Glaze Ingredients:

• 11/2 cups powdered sugar 
• The juice of 2 lemons (add about a tablespoon or two of water if the glaze is too thick) 
• The zest from the two lemons
  I also like to add a couple of drops of lemon food coloring to make the yellow, POP!

Directions for Lemon Bars:

1. Preheat oven 375°F. 
2. Generously spray a casserole dish with non-stick cooking spray (9” x 13” x 2”) – set aside. 
3. Wash and dry the lemons. Using a rasp or small grater, zest[i] the outside of the skin of the lemons into a bowl. 
4. Next, cut the lemons in half or quarters and squeeze the juice from the lemons into a separate bowl. Remove any seeds. 
5. In a large mixing bowl, empty the can of sweetened condensed milk, be sure to scrape out the entire contents well. 
6. Add in the zest, lemon juice, sugar, and egg. Mix well with a hand mixer (or stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment). (The liquid gets stiff as it sets and this is normal as the lemon juice is reacting to the cream in the sweetened condensed milk.) 
7. Add in the flour, salt, and baking soda, and then slightly stir with a wooden spoon to prevent a flour cloud. Then use the mixer to finish combining all ingredients well. 
8. Pour the batter into the prepared baking dish. Place on the center rack in the oven and bake for 35 minutes. The bars will be gooey in the center and not look done. DO NOT OVER BAKE! 
9. Remove the bars and place the dish on a cooling rack and allow them to cool for 20 minutes before cutting. 
10. Serve warm. 
11. Store leftovers in a sealed container and refrigerate. They can be stored for 1 week in the refrigerator or 3 months in the freezer. 

Directions for Lemon Glaze: I make this glaze after the lemon bars have cooked and are out of the oven. I use a toothpick and punch a lot of holes in the top so that this will ooze down inside the hot bars! Pour and spread the glaze over the hot bars. 

1. Zest and juice the two lemons 
2. Add them to the powdered sugar. 
3. Mix until the lumps are gone. Spread over the warm lemon bars.

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[i] Zest: the thin outer rind of the peel of a citrus fruit that is cut, scraped, or grated to yield a sharp fruity flavoring for foods and drinks. Encarta Dictionary – N. America