Hi all, self-taught baker, new to the sub. My parents' lemon tree was overflowing with lemons, so I made a batch of lemon bars from Preppy Kitchen a few days ago. I'm not sure what the issue was, but they turned out terribly for me. The top was tough, but the inside was still so gooey. They were delicious, but I couldn't possibly serve them for guests coming over for the Fourth of July.

I know stovetop is worth the extra time when it comes to curd, so I found a different recipe from Sugar Spun Run and made some alterations, and they were absolutely divine. Everyone raved that they were the best lemon bars they'd ever had.

The one major difference is that I read the powdered sugar sank into the bars, so I made Italian meringue using Entirely Elizabeth's recipe. She uses lemon juice, so it worked out perfectly.

The steps are the same on her site, and it seems fair to send the traffic her way since it's her recipe, but I just wanted to share my altered version (and thank you, Sugar Spun Run, for the original recipe!). Enjoy!

My altered recipe:

Ingredients

Crust

• 1 ½ cups (190 g) all-purpose flour
• ⅓ cup (70 g) fine granulated sugar (minus 2 teaspoons)
• 1 ½ teaspoons cornstarch
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 10 Tablespoons (141 g) unsalted, cold, and cut into small cubes
• 1 large egg yolk
• 1 teaspoon vanilla paste
• 1 teaspoon lemon zest (blend with sugar in food processor before adding other dry ingredients)

Lemon Curd

• 2 large whole eggs
• 4 large egg yolks
• 3/4 cup (120 ml) fresh lemon juice
• 1 cup (200 g) granulated sugar (minus 3 teaspoons)
• ⅛ teaspoon salt
• ½ cup (113 g) unsalted butter, cut into 8 pieces

Italian Meringue

• 3 egg whites (room temperature)
• 1 cup granulated sugar
• 1/2 cup water
• 1/2 teaspoon cream of tartar
• 1 tablespoon lemon juice
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract