A Twist on the Classic Lemon Bar with an Olive Oil Crust
This is almost your classic lemon bar with a sweet lemon curd filling, but the shortbread base uses olive oil instead of butter. It’s nutty, fruity, and salty, making it perfect for dessert or on a cheeseboard. The flavor is familiar, but maybe even better! The sweetness of the lemon curd is balanced by the olive oil.
- Prep Time: 15 minutes
- Cook Time: 90 minutes
- Total Time: 105 minutes
- Yield: 16 1x
Ingredients
Scale
For the Crust:
- 2 1/2 cups flour
- 1/2 cup sugar
- 3/4 teaspoon salt
- 3/4 cup olive oil
For the Lemon Curd Filling:
- 6 large eggs
- 1 3/4 cups sugar
- 7 tablespoons flour
- 3 lemons, zested (1 tablespoon)
- 1 cup fresh squeezed lemon juice
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
Instructions
- Heat oven to 325º
- Line a 9×9 baking pan with parchment paper. I cut two pieces the same width as the pan, leaving enough parchment paper to hang over the ends. The parchment paper will serve as handles when removing the lemon bars from the pan. Then I use binder clips to secure each side.
- Make the crust: combine the flour, sugar, and salt and stir to combine. Pour in the olive oil and mix with a spoon until a crumbly dough forms and is no longer dry. Do not over-mix!
- Dump the dough mixture into the prepared pan and spread out evenly on the bottom with your finger. It’s quite stiff, so I went back and smoothed it out with a spatula. Then prick the dough evenly on the bottom.
- Bake 45-60 minutes. (depending on your pan size). The crust should be golden brown.
- Meanwhile, make the lemon curd filling.
- Combine the eggs, sugar, flour, lemon juice, zest, and salt and whisk together until smooth.
- Pour the combined mixture onto the hot shortbread crust, return to the oven, and bake for 30-40 minutes.
- Cool at room temperature and then chill in the refrigerator completely. Remove from the pan using the parchment paper sides as handles, and cut into squares.
Notes
Using binder clips to secure the parchment paper is a tip I learned from Sheri Silver.