Lemon Cookie Bars Recipe

This lemon cookie bars recipe captures the perfect balance of sweet, tangy, and buttery, making it the perfect recipe for spring baking.

What are Lemon Cookie Bars?

This lemon cookie bars recipe is the only thing I want on my plate during the spring months. Lemon is always one of the first ingredients and flavors I gravitate towards when the winter weather begins to fade, hello Lemon Biscoff Ice Cream! With this lemon sugar cookie bar, I wanted to combine the buttery notes that you get from a classic sugar cookie with the tangy and sweet flavor coming from the seasonal lemons. 

These lemon sugar cookie bars come together extremely quickly, and follow very closely to a classic Soft and Chewy Sugar Cookie Recipe, but we’re adding a lot of lemon zest and a little bit of lemon juice as well.

I used to not be such a huge lemon fan, but over the last few years its become one of my favorite flavors! These lemon sugar cookie bars are no exception to that rule – they are always a hit and I love when the warmer months start rolling around so I feel better about baking with lemons every week.

Why this recipe works

This lemon cookie bars recipe works because it balances buttery and tangy. The two of those, when proportioned correctly, can marry in the most beautiful of ways. We start this recipe off by creaming the butter and sugar together with a mixer until it’s light and fluffy – this results in a great deal of air being incorporated into the batter. The addition of both eggs and egg yolks helps to increase the chewiness of these bars. I didn’t want this recipe to be crunchy and brittle, but I also didn’t want it to be creamy (like these Creamy Honey Lemon Bars), and adding the egg yolks here really helps to get that perfect texture.

This lemon cookie bars recipe also uses a lot of lemon zest. To me, lemon zest does more for a recipe in terms of actual lemon flavor than lemon juice could ever do. The oils in the zest are so pungent and tart, that when combined with even just a hint of lemon juice you’re still able to get lots of lemon flavor. It also helps to use the zest here because we never want to add just too much liquid to a cookie – then it may turn into more of a cake!

Some equipment you may need…

You’ll only need a few things for this lemon cookie bars recipe, and it won’t even require a stand mixer!

Rubber spatula – I use rubber spatulas for almost every baking recipe I make. I love the ones with metal handles that can easily go in the dishwasher.

Wooden spoons – I also love wooden spoons, and these are a great choice!

Mixing bowls – luckily, this lemon cookie bars recipe can easily be made in just a mixing bowl if you don’t have a stand mixer. I love this glass set because it has so many different sizes.

Stand mixer – If you want to use a stand mixer – sometimes it’s just easier – I use this one for all of my baking, and I’ve never had any issues. It has stood the test of time and the test of many, many recipes (like Swiss meringue buttercream and chocolate French buttercream – both things that require a lot of mixing), so its definitely a reliable purchase if you don’t have one yourself!

Ingredients for Lemon Cookie Bars Recipe

The ingredients list for these lemon cookie bars is relatively short, and aside from the lemons – you probably already have everythign you need in your pantry!

• Unsalted butter – This will be the base of our lemon cookie bars – and it’s an important part of any good sugar cookie recipe (just ask my Soft Sugar Cookie Recipe). 
• Granulated sugar – You’ll use granulated sugar in two spots here – first to cream together with the butter at the very beginning, and second to coat the bars in at the end. This is an optional step but I think it adds a little something extra to these bars.
• Large eggs – You’ll need both full eggs and egg yolks for this recipe, and don’t forget to save those egg whites for a delicious swiss meringue buttercream. 
• Egg yolks
• Vanilla extract – There’s just something about the combination of lemon and vanilla that I can’t get away from! I’ll always add it to any lemon recipe.
• Lemons – We’ll be using both the zest and the juice, so be sure you zest your lemons before you juice them!
• All-purpose flour – I always use King Arthur Flours, and I suggest you do the same for the sake of consistency in your recipes.
• Baking powder – this will be our leavening agent (what makes the bars rise), and this combined with the lemon juice/zest will make for an extra fluffy rise.
• Kosher salt – Diamond crystal is my go-to!

Possible ingredient substitutions

Salted butter vs unsalted butter

If you only have salted butter on hand, feel free to use that instead! I’d suggest reducing the amount of added kosher salt in the recipe to 1/4 tsp to account for the addition in the salted butter.

Can I brown the butter instead?

I really considered using browned butter in place of regular butter, but ultimately decided not to only because I was afraid it would take away from the lemon flavor. Lemon is such a light and bright flavor, while browned butter is more of a dark and nutty flavor.

If you decide to try this – please please let me know in the comments below because I’m interested to see how they taste! And if you’ve never tried browning your butter – check out this easy tutorial on how to brown butter. 

How to Make Lemon Cookie Bars Recipe

Step 1 – cream the butter and sugar together in a large bowl

First we’re going to incorporate some air by creaming the butter and sugar togther. When doing so, because sugar is a “crystal” at its core – meaning it’s sharp on the edges – it actually cuts into the butter and creates pockets of air.

Step 2 – Add the eggs and egg yolks

Remember, the egg yolks are a little added bonus to get all the chewiness we love into these lemon cookie bars. I like to add these one at a time, so just be patient with it!

Step 3 – Add the zest, juice, and vanilla

To me, the zest is the most important part, and if you happen to add a little bit too much – the more the merrier in my opinion!

Step 4 – Beat in the dry ingredients

Because I can be a little bit on the lazy side when it comes to baking, a lot of the time I like to add my leavening agents and salt before I add the flour – this allows me to skip the step of whisking the dry ingredients beforehand – which then makes for a one-bowl recipe! Who doesn’t love that?

Note: you can whisk the dry ingredients beforehand if you’d like to, and add them all at once after you add the vanilla, but it’s not necessary!

Step 5 – Bake, cool, and coat

Once the bars have been completely baked through and cooled to room temperature, take a shallow bowl and fill it with more granulated sugar. Simply take your cut lemon cookie bars and coat them thoroughly in extra sugar.

Note: this is an optional step, but I like the texture of biting into the sugar first – then hitting the lemon flavor! 

Lemon Cookie Bars Recipe FAQs

Can this lemon cookie bars recipe be made ahead?

Yes! One of the best things about any cookie recipe is that they can typically be made pretty far in advance. And even better – with this lemon cookie bars recipe I actually feel like the lemon flavor only gets stronger as they sit. 

I store the baked and cooled lemon cookie bars in airtight container at room temperature for up to 5 days.

Is it possible to add too much lemon?

Like I said above, I feel like any lemon recipe could always do with another little ounce of lemon love. If you accidentally zest too much from your lemon peel, add it all! The more the merrier, in my opinion!

Can this lemon cookie bars recipe be frozen?

Yes, you can take your baked and cooled lemon cookie bars, wrap them tightly in plastic wrap, and place them in the freezer. When you’re ready to serve them, I’d just set them out for a few hours (or overnight) at room temperature until they’re completely thawed. 

This lemon cookie bars recipe is such a great way to celebrate your love for lemons. If you bake these bars, be sure to tag me on socials @sarahsdayoff so I can see them! Also, if you have a question about this recipe or any of the others on my site, be sure to leave a comment down below or drop me a line at sarah@sarahsdayoff.com! 

As always, thanks for being here 🙂

Love,

Sarah

“But as for you, be strong and courageous, for your work will be rewarded.” – 2 Chronicles 15:7 –

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