12 Weeks of Christmas Treats-Tart and Tasty Lemon Bars

Time is moving along, and we are at week five of 12 Weeks of Christmas Treats hosted by Brenda from Meal Planning Magic. 

I am continuing with sharing recipes made with Holiday Cookie Mix.  Today was wet and rainy, cloudy and gray so I wanted to make something bright and cheery.  The answer was Lemon Bars.  These are just a take on the typical lemon bar cookie using the cookie mix for the crust.  By now you probably realize that the mix can be used as the crust layer for many different layered bar cookies.

This recipe works best if the eggs are at room temperature which does take a little advance planning.  If you forget to remove the eggs from the fridge and don’t want to wait for them to warm up, cover the eggs with warm water and let them set 10-15 minutes.  This is what I do most of the time as I rarely remember to get eggs from the fridge ahead of time.

Putting the lemons in a microwave for 30 seconds and then rolling them on the counter will help release the juice.  I use the back of a spoon to squeeze out all the juice that I can into a glass measuring cup.  I pour the juice through a sieve to remove any pulp when I add the juice to the egg/sugar mixture.

For a couple of variations, you can add 1/2 c. chopped nuts or flaked coconut to the crust mix.

I mentioned in my original post that more than 12 different cookies could be made with the cookie mix.  I am posting some bonus recipes on my Saturday Sweets post and so far have posted a recipe for Chocolate Cottage Bars.  I will mention it when I post additional recipes.

The sweet/tartness of these makes them a nice contrast when included in a Christmas cookie tray.

Tart and Tasty Lemon Bars

3 c. Holiday Cookie Mix

4 eggs at room temperature

1 1/2 c. sugar

1/4 c. flour

1/2 c. fresh lemon juice (2 to 3 lemons)

Powdered sugar

Measure cookie mix and press into a foil-lined and sprayed 9x13-inch baking pan.  Bake at 350 degrees 12 to 15 minutes.  Set aside to cook 5 to 10 minutes.  In a large bowl beat eggs with a wire whisk until thick and lemon colored.  Add sugar and flour and beat until smooth.  Beat in lemon juice until mixture is well blended.  Pour on top of baked crust and bake an additional 20 minutes or until set.  Place pan on a rack to cool.  Dust top with sifted powdered sugar.  Cut into bars.  Makes about 32 bars.  Store in the refrigerator because of the high concentration of egg.

There is still time to join us in the fun.  Go here for complete details on Brenda's blog.