Ahh..it's good to be back. Joe and I went on another mini/post-grad vacay and hid out in Palm Springs. Even though it didn't break 100 degrees, there is nothing like the desert oasis to purify you of "real-life" duties. Because it is always 100 and over in the summer, we planted our booties by the pool and intermittently jumped in the pool as needed.
And speaking of savoring and enjoying, that is exactly what I did with these fruit bars (See, nice transition, huh?) I have a thing for fruit bars, such as these passion fruit bars, A Taste of Aloha-Lilikoi Bars with Fresh Lilikoi Glaze and kumquat-cardamom bars. If there is some sort of fruit juice involved, I seem to make it into a bar.
I've made simple lemon bars before and it is the usual go-to desert in this house because it is so easy, packs wonderfully and everyone loves them. But sometimes I get a wild hair and and add lavender. But this time I wanted something that mimicked the lemon, something bright and earthy. It was a toss-up between fresh thyme and rosemary. I love them both, but thyme won.
These are not as sweet as you would think with lemon bars. They are tart and the thyme mellows out the sweetness a little more but still leaves the herb delicate in the background like "hmm..what is that earthly aroma."
Ingredients
- Butter
- Sugar
- Flour
- Fresh Thyme
- Salt
- Eggs
- Lemon
- Powdered Sugar
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. For the crust, cream the butter and sugar together in mixer until well incorporated.
- In another bowl, add together the flour, salt and fresh thyme. Add flour mixture to butter mixture with mixer on low and mix until just incorporated.
- With floured hands, take dough and gather into a ball. Then flatten dough and form in a 9 x 13 baking dish, bringing up ½in on each side.
- Allow to chill in refrigerator for 30 minutes.
- For the filling, whisk together the eggs, sugar, lemon zest, lemon juice, and flour. Pour over the crust and bake for about 30 minutes, until the filling is set. Let cool to room temperature.
- Cut into triangles and dust with powdered sugar and fresh thyme.
Lemon Thyme Bars
LittleFerraroKitchen.com
Ingredients
For the filling:
- 6 eggs room temperature
- 2 cups sugar
- 1 cup fresh lemon juice About 3-4 lemons
- Zest of 2-3 lemons
- 1 cup flour
- Powdered sugar for dusting
- Fresh thyme for garnish
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. For the crust, cream the butter and sugar together in mixer until well incorporated.
- In another bowl, add together the flour, salt and fresh thyme. Add flour mixture to butter mixture with mixer on low and mix until just incorporated.
- With floured hands, take dough and gather into a ball. Then flatten dough and form in a 9 x 13 baking dish, bringing up ½in on each side.
- Allow to chill in refrigerator for 30 minutes.
- For the filling, whisk together the eggs, sugar, lemon zest, lemon juice, and flour. Pour over the crust and bake for about 30 minutes, until the filling is set. Let cool to room temperature.
- Cut into triangles and dust with powdered sugar and fresh thyme.
Cynthia says
These look yummy. How well do they keep? I need to make a bunch of desserts for an event in a couple weeks and need some I can make two days ahead so I'm not fried on the event day.
Nancy @ gottagetbaked says
Thyme and lemon were totally meant to be together! Sam, these bars look amazing - I'm drooling thinking about them. I'm glad you've been enjoying yourself and getting some much needed rest. I totally agree about reading for pleasure v. reading horrible hideous text books! Although nowadays, most of my "for fun reading" consists of food blogs. No wonder I'm always hungry!
Erin @ The Spiffy Cookie says
Oh hey I remember these 😉