[ENG] Lemon Key Lime Bars That Looks Like Orange Bars

Lemon bars! One of my all time favorite sweet :) I made this few times before and i love it! The combination of the buttery shortbread crust and sweet & tangy lemon filling is really addictive! I you haven't had one before, i really recommend you to try it out, coz it's really good! ;)

It's pretty easy to make, but ironically this time, i made a silly mistake that makes it looks like orange bar than a lemon bar -.- That's using omega 3-eggs instead of regular eggs, and the orange yolks make the filling orange instead of yellow. So it's still taste like lemon bars, but it's just causing a little bit of confusion in my brain, since it's looks like orange bar, so my brain 'expected' it to taste like orange, but when i eat it, it taste like lemon lol

I didn't usually add lemon zest before, but i added it this time just to see the different, but in my opinion, it tastes the same lol. I don't know if it's because i didn't use a zester, i was just using a knife to peel off the outer yellow layer of the lemon skin, and slice it finely. I also added a little bit of key lime juice this time, it wasn't intentional, it's just because i ran out of lemon, but it turns out as good as the usual lemon bars! Mainly, it's still taste like lemon bars, but with a bit of the "soda" sensation you get from a key lime pie. It think it's because i used 3 small eggs instead of 2 large eggs that 2 large lemons wasn't enough.

Original recipe from Joy of Baking - Lemon Bars

Ingredients (for 20x20 cm square pan):

for the shortbread crust:
113 g (1 stick) room temperature butter
30 g (1/4 cup) powdered/icing sugar
130 g (1 cup) all purpose flour
1/8 tsp salt

for the lemon filling:
1 cup (200 g) sugar --> i used 180 g because indonesian granulated sugar tends to be sweeter
2 large eggs --> i used 3 small eggs
1/3 cup (80 ml) fresh lemon juice (about 2 large lemon)
key lime juice from 1 key lime (optional)
lemon zest
2 tbsp (25 g) all purpose flour

powdered/icing sugar for garnish

1. Make the shortbread crust: Preheat the oven to 180 C (350 F). Cream the butter & powdered sugar together with a spatula or wire whisk until smooth & creamy. Add in the flour & salt, mix with a fork until the dough just start to come together.

2. Grease your 20 x 20 cm (8 x 8 inch) square pan with butter, press the shortbread dough into the pan evenly. Bake for 20 minutes or until slightly golden brown. Remove from the oven & let it cool while you make the lemon filling.

3. For the lemon-key lime filling: Preheat the oven again to 180 C (350 F). Mix together sugar & flour with a whisk. Add in the eggs and the lemon (& key lime juice), mix well. Add in the lemon zest, mix well. Pour the filling into the cooled shortbread crust.

i usually taste a bit of the uncooked filling to test for the sweetness & sourness

4. Bake in the oven for 17-20 minutes or until the filling has set. Let it cool completely before cutting.

5. Once it's cooled, cut them into 16 bars, dust the top with powdered sugar before serving. To get nice clean cut, dip the knife in a glass of hot water, then wipe it with paper towel or kitchen cloth before cutting. (check the link in the reference below for the technique)