The Gastronomic Mommy: Meyer Lemon Bars: Mastered

So some tiny bits of exciting news before we dive into lemon bliss.

I recently got one of my recipes published in a local San Diego magazine! My Korean Beef Tacos made the March/April issue!! Pretty exciting to see my picture, my story & my recipe in a local magazine. (Which you can check out here: (92024magazine.com) Here's a screen shot I took, but it's a pretty poor quality pic

So that was cool!

Then this last weekend Chris & I tackled a home project that was a teeny bit out of our comfort zone, but came out wonderful! We installed a subway tile backsplash in our kitchen! Man, it looks so fabulous. It has a bit of an urban edge, yet it's so classic. It makes me feel like we need a beautiful Italian wood fire oven in the corner to make pizzas all day. Haha! ;) Pretty impressive for 1st timers, huh?? I'm thrilled!

(I took these right after we finished so I apologize for any unsightly messes)

Ok, so onto these fabulous lemon bars!

This has been my latest quest. To make the most perfect lemon bars. Lemon bars that embody all that I adore about those vibrant, sugary, acidic, addictive treats. My journey has been filled with disappointment, anticipation, more disappointment, a glimmer of hope and finally.....SUCCESS!!

Making lemon bars isn't like making a cookie. There is a lot more patience involved before you can shovel one into your face. You have to make the crust, bake it, let it cool. Make the filling, wait for it to bake, then finally wait for it to cool again....it can be torture!!! They don't taste as good warm, plus you can't get clean slices unless you wait for them to be room temperature, so you are kind of forced to wait. But the torture is worth enduring for such a luscious dessert. Even though it may require more minutes in your day than a cookie, it is incredibly simple to whip up. No really, I'd even say it's beginner level dessert. So why are good ones so hard to find??? I don't know...

In my world, lemon bars have the following criteria:

1- A buttery, delicious shortbread crust

2- Soft, luscious lemon filling texture

3- Sweet & Tart, almost puckering lemon flavor

This recipe not only meets all the criteria, but by using my meyer lemons from my tree, it exceeded my expectations! (You can find meyer lemons in some grocery stores or farmers markets. But if you can't find them, regular lemons will of course be delicious too, so don't fret)

This is my 2nd batch of lemon bars in the last week. The first batch I made was such a disappointment!!!! The crust was so over the top on the butter that they were beyond greasy. The filling got too brown on top and had a bit of a cakey texture. However, the biggest offender was the complete LACK of lemon flavor!!! I was so disappointed! What the heck, man! I wanted to educate the woman who titled them "The Best Freakin' Lemon Bars"....really? She claims she's been eating them all her her life and they are "the best". Well honey, maybe it's not your fault. Because if you have been only eating all those flavorless lemon bars all those years, you actually think they are supposed to taste like that. How sad. :-/

I knew I could do MUCH, much better. And I did.

For those of you that are not familiar with meyer lemons, they are basically the love child of a lemon and orange. They are sweeter than a regular lemon and when ripe the rind has a slight orange hue. They are sensational, and I feel very blessed to have a huge meyer lemon tree in my yard! (It also makes the BEST lemonade btw)

So make these and be in lemon heaven.