Recipe of the Week: Lavender Lemon Bars

Bright, fresh, and delicately floral, Lavender Lemon Bars are the perfect treat to elevate any occasion. These bars blend the zesty tang of fresh lemon with the subtle, aromatic notes of lavender for a refreshing twist on a classic favorite. With a buttery shortbread crust and a smooth, fragrant lemon-lavender filling, each bite is a perfect balance of sweet, tart, and lightly herbal flavors. Ideal for spring gatherings, afternoon teas, or simply treating yourself to something special, Lavender Lemon Bars bring a touch of elegance and sunshine to any table.

Cooking Times

Bake Time: 50 minutes

Ingredients: 

Crust:

• 1 cup unsalted butter, softened
• 2 cups all-purpose flour
• ½ cup powdered sugar
• ½ teaspoon vanilla extract

Filling:

• 2 cups sugar
• 1 teaspoon dried culinary lavender
• 4 large eggs
• 6 tablespoons freshly squeezed lemon juice
• 4 tablespoons flour
• 2 tablespoons freshly grated lemon zest
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• ¼ teaspoon lavender extract
• 1/2 teaspoon salt

Cooking Instructions

1. Step 1: Preheat your oven to 350 degrees F.
2. Step 2: In the bowl of your electric mixer, beat the butter, flour, powdered sugar and vanilla extract until combined. It will be crumbly. Press it into a 9×13 inch baking dish. Bake it for 20 minutes, until slightly set.
3. Step 3: While the crust is baking, whisk together the sugar and dried lavender. You can even do this a few days ahead of time to really flavor the sugar!
4. Step 4: In the bowl of your mixer, beat together the 4 eggs and lemon juice. Beat in the lavender sugar, flour, lemon zest, vanilla and lavender extracts. Beat in the salt until combined. Pour the filling over the crust.
5. Step 5: Bake for 25 to 30 minutes, until the top is slightly cracked and set. The inside filling will still be somewhat soft and curd-like! Sprinkle the lemon bars with powdered sugar. Let cool completely before slicing.
6. Step 6: You can store these in the fridge because they are delicious cold! You can always keep them at room temperature and slice too – they will be softer! Still delish.
7. Step 7:
8. Step 8:

Recipe Notes:

•  If you don’t want to use the dried flowers, you can up the lavender extract to 1/2 teaspoon. If you don’t want to use the extract, you can increase the dried flowers by an extra 1/2 teaspoon and also let the lavender sugar sit for a day or two!