Lemon Bars

This is another food I never thought I would love so well. I first made lemon bars from this recipe a couple of years ago, and, without fail, a few times every winter I'm struck with a sudden and undeniable hankering for them. I don't make dessert regularly for our family, and most dessert recipes on buildabelly are due to company or get-togethers, but these lemon bars usurp the norm. I usually ONLY make these for us.

We prefer them completely cooled.




Crust:
1/3 cup butter, softened
1/4 cup confectioners' sugar
1 cup all-purpose flour

Update: I always add more lemon juice to the topping now, in order to increase the lemon punch, and then a tad more flour to keep the consistency similar.

Topping:
2 eggs
1 cup sugar
2 tablespoons flour
2 tablespoons lemon juice
1/2 tsp. lemon extract
1/2 tsp. baking powder
1/4 tsp. salt
cherry flavoring oil, if desired (*this comes in an eensy bottle and is usually used for flavoring candy, so it's highly concentrated)

Additional confectioners' sugar

In a mixing bowl, cream butter and sugar. Add flour; beat until crumbly. Press into an ungreased 8-in. square baking pan. Bake at 375 degrees for 15 minutes. Meanwhile, for topping,. combine eggs, sugar, flour, lemon juice, extract, baking powder, salt, and flavoring, if desired, in a mixing bowl. Beat until frothy. Pour over the hot crust and bake at 375 degrees for 18-22 minutes or until a light golden brown. Cool. Dust with confectioners' sugar. Eat until there are none left to eat (I just may be endorsing gluttony here...).

* I began adding a few drops of cherry flavoring oil, to taste, when I first made these because I had no lemon extract. Now I add it in addition to the lemon extract and it makes these bars even better.