If you are looking for a delicious recipe that has a bite tart of lemon, these Pioneer Woman Lemon Bars are what you're looking for.

In the past, I have made Ina Garten's lemon bars.

They are delicious as well, but the Pioneer Woman Lemon bars have a thinner cookie bottom and the lemon is more tart.

I love making these lemon bars several times during the year. I started making these during the summer, but hey — the winter and the holidays is a good time to make these as well, right?

How to Make Lemon Bars

Making lemon bars start with a deliciously soft shortbread cookie crust. If you have ever made any kind of bars or cookies before, this is the normal shortbread crust that is used.

For more delicious lemon bar recipes, be sure to check out this post that over 37 different lemon bar recipes in it.

The shortbread crust will look like a crumbly mess when you press it into a 9×13-inch buttered dish. But, trust the process. It will come together in a snap.

While the shortbread crust is cooling you can make the lemon curd. Now, you can opt for using store-bought, but making homemade lemon curd is simple and easy.

Do I need to keep my Pioneer Woman Lemon Bars in the fridge?

Since lemon bars are essentially custard, they should be refrigerated. However, they are fine to keep out at room temperature for the day.

How long do lemon bars keep?

Lemon bars can be kept for about 4 days. After that, they tend to get a little mushy. Be sure and eat them all within 4 days!

For a different take on these bars, try my friend Liz's Lemon Cream Bars. They look fantastic!

Looking for More Delicious Desserts Like This?

Yield: 20 servings

Pioneer Woman Lemon Bars

Name: Pioneer Woman Lemon Bars
Prep time: 15 min
Cook time: 40 min
Total time: 55 min
Yield: 20
Cuisine: American
Ingredients: 2 cups Flour; 1/2 cup Sugar; 1/4 teaspoon salt; 2 sticks (1 Cup) Salted Butter, Cut Into Small Cubes; Filling; 1-1/2 cup Sugar; 1/4 cup Flour; 4 whole Large Eggs; Zest And Juice Of 4 Medium-sized Lemons; Powdered Sugar, For Sifting

These bars are full of tart lemon flavor and a delicious cookie crust.

Prep Time 15 minutes

Cook Time 40 minutes

Total Time 55 minutes

Ingredients

2 cups Flour
1/2 cup Sugar
1/4 teaspoon salt
2 sticks (1 Cup) Salted Butter, Cut Into Small Cubes
Filling
1-1/2 cup Sugar
1/4 cup Flour
4 whole Large Eggs
Zest And Juice Of 4 Medium-sized Lemons
Powdered Sugar, For Sifting

Instructions

For the crust: Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Grease a 9-by-13-inch pan with butter. If you want a thicker crust, use a 9x9 pan instead.
Stir together the flour, sugar, and salt. Add the butter to the bowl and use a pastry cutter to cut it all together until the mixture resembles fine crumbs.
Press into the prepared pan and bake until golden around the edges, about 20 minutes.
For the filling: Stir together the sugar and flour. Crack in the eggs and whisk to combine.
Add the lemon zest and juice and mix until combined. Pour over the crust and bake about 20 minutes.
Allow to cool in the fridge for a minimum of 2 hours, then sift powdered sugar over the top before cutting into squares.
Store leftover lemon bars in the fridge.

Nutrition Information:

Yield:

Serving Size:

1
Amount Per Serving: Calories: 207Total Fat: 2gSaturated Fat: 1gTrans Fat: 0gUnsaturated Fat: 1gCholesterol: 40mgSodium: 58mgCarbohydrates: 45gFiber: 1gSugar: 33gProtein: 3g

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Char Daly

Thursday 11th of August 2022

Hi- Why is your recipe that you are saying is the Pioneer Woman recipe different then the actual Pioneer Woman recipe listed on the Food Network site? The flour for the crust is different by 1/2 cup. The filling is different in the amounts for the sugar , eggs and lemon. Thanks

Jennifer Sikora

Friday 19th of August 2022

I used the one from her website and not the one from Food Network.

Charles

Thursday 4th of August 2022

Do you need to let the crust cool before adding the filling? Thanks

Yes. The post says to let the crust cool while you make the filling.

Meg

Saturday 9th of July 2022

Oh man, this is truly lemon bar perfection.I made the thicker, 9x9 version which required substantially more cooking time (40 mins shortbread and 30 mins custard). Lemons came out to 3/4 cup of juice. Otherwise, followed recipe exactly and it is scrumptious!

Sunday 10th of July 2022

So glad you liked it. It is our favorite!

H. West

Saturday 25th of June 2022

There are two things that should be noted in the recipe: Q) enough lemon juice to equal 1/2 cup, 2) baking time will be longer for the custard if using a smaller pan.

This may be obvious to some but not everyone.

The bars were delicious.

Lynn

Saturday 30th of April 2022

I was hesitant at first making them that they’d turn out. Thought crust was too thin for 13x9 pan plus they looked like they were stuck to the pan. Key is to make sure you refrigerate them overnight before attempting to cut into bars. . I cooled them about an hour before putting into fridge. Cut them next morning with first piece getting butchered (lol) but each piece after that came out perfect. Hubby loved them. Guests went crazy over them. They really are THE BEST lemon bars! I did not use any zest...not fond of it. Lemon juice from 5 small lemons was enough. Used metal pan. Next might use glass so hopefully none of the pieces get stuck to pan. This recipe is a keeper!!

Sunday 8th of May 2022

You do not have to refrigerate them overnight. They come out of the pan just fine once they cool off. Glad you liked them.