Lemon Bars

I am lucky enough to work for an extraordinary boss and company, so with Bosses Day hitting last week I wanted to make sure I acknowledged by boss with a treat that I know she likes. I had never made lemon bars before, but after looking around for some tips and recipe reviews, I tailored this to be what I think is the perfect ratio of sweetness, tart lemon flavor and buttery crust.

As a note, I only used a small amount of powdered sugar on the top. While I love the touch of powdered sugar, when eating treats topped with the stuff I somehow always manage to inhale or exhale at exactly the wrong moment and end up covering myself with sugar or choking on it. So, for the sake of keeping these low maintenance to eat I kept the sugar minimal. You could obviously adjust this to match your personal taste.

Lemon Bars

Crust
1 c butter, softened
2 c flour
1/2 c sugar
pinch of salt

Filling
3 c sugar
1/2 c + 2 T flour
1 1/4 c fresh lemon juice (approx 5-6 large lemons or 7-8 small lemons)
zest from 2 lemons
8 eggs

powdered sugar to top (optional)

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Use pastry cutter or just your hands to blend together all crust ingredients in medium bowl. Press into greased 9x13 pan. Bake for 20 minutes. Set aside to cool slightly while preparing the filling.

Whisk filling ingredients together in medium bowl until well combined. Pour over crust. Bake for an additional 30 minutes. Allow to cool in pan.

Sprinkle with powdered sugar to taste while still slightly warm. Once cool, cut into squares and serve.

Lemon Delight Cake

This was another lower-fat dessert option I found. This lemon cake turns out light and moist with a mild lemon flavor. This is a great option for a summer dessert.

Lemon Delight Cake
Cake
1 pkg lemon cake mix
1 (3.4 oz) instant lemon pudding mix
1 3/4 cups water
3 egg whites

Topping
3/4 cup skim milk
1/2 tsp lemon extract
1 (1 oz) pkg instant lemon pudding mix
1 (8 oz) container frozen light whipped topping

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Spray 9x13 inch cake pan with cooking spray. In large bowl, mix together cake mix and pudding mix. Add water and egg whites. Beat on low for 1 minute. Increase to high speed and beat for 4 minutes. Pour batter into prepared pan.
Bake for 25-30 minutes or until toothpick inserted into middle comes out clean. Allow cake to cool completely.
To prepare the whipped topping, Combine milk, lemon extract and pudding mix. Beat on low for 2 minutes. Fold in whipped topping. Spread over cooled cake. Decorate top with lemon slices or lemon rind. Store cake in refrigerator.