Dandelion Lemon Bars

These dandelion lemon bars are beautiful, tart, sweet and rich. The petals on top look just like the sort of lovely yellow sprinkles a lemon bar was meant to have. They’re a familiar favorite with just a hint of the spring wilds.

Servings

12-48bars

Servings

12-48bars

Ingredients

For Shortbread Base:

2cups flour
1/2cup sugar
1/2teaspoon salt
1cups unsalted buttervery cold, cut into small cubes

For Filling

1 1/2cups sugar
1/4cup flour
4 eggs
zest of four lemons
3/4cup lemon juiceabout 4 lemons
1teaspoon vanilla extract
2cups fresh-picked dandelion blossomspetals snipped off to yield about 1 cup petals
powdered sugarfor dusting

Instructions

For the Shortbread Base:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Grease a 9″ x 13″ pan with butter or cooking spray.
Stir together the flour, sugar and salt. With a pastry cutter, cut in the butter until it mixture resembles a coarse meal. Press into the pan evenly, using the bottom of a drinking glass or measuring cup sprayed with cooking spray. Bake for 20 minutes, until just starting to brown at the edges. Let cool at least until you can handle the pan easily with your bare hands, about 15 minutes.

For the Filling:

Stir together the sugar and flour. Then add the eggs, zest and juice and stir until combined. Pour over the crust and bake for 20-25 minutes, until the filling is mostly set. A tiny bit of wobbly in the middle is okay.
Cool in the fridge for a few hours, then top with powdered sugar and dandelion petals. Cut into squares with a bench scraper or sharp knife sprayed with cooking spray.