New and Improved Lemon Bars

I am radiantly happy.  I just finished finals and now I have four golden weeks of winter vacation!  Can I get a Hallelujah?

Sure, everyone is eating gingerbread, nutmeg, and peppermint at this time of year (hopefully not together...), but  it has been sunny and 65 degrees where I live everyday for the past week, and I'm in a cheery mood.  Lemon seems more appropriate.  

These tasty lemon bars burst in your mouth with brightness, a perfect mixture of tart and sweet, smooth from the filling, crispy from the crumble that  forms the crust and adorns the easy-to-make lemon cream.  

So, please excuse my joy if you are snowed in, working, and suffering.  Perhaps you could live vicariously through me by making and eating these bars?  Put some sunshine in your mouth and reminisce about summer while you wait for presents--the next cause for joy on the horizon--and the celebration of Jesus' birthday, of course :)

My go-to recipe for lemon bars has always been the 1980s Betty Crocker cookbook my Mom owns, but I thought I'd try something new.  With a bag of lemons from home, I scoured the Net and found a tempting recipe from the Pioneer Woman for these Creamy Lemon Crumb Squares.  Please visit her site for the recipe, and while you're there, click around to her other pages.  I love reading about her life baking on the ranch, her cowboy husband, and her Basset Hound, Charlie.

Gather your ingredients for this easy but rewarding recipe.

Make sure you sift your flour, salt, and baking powder.  Make a mountain, it's fun!

After mixing this into your brown sugar, butter, and oats, press it all into your 9"x13" pan.

Pour your mixture of lemon juice, lemon zest, and sweetened condensed milk over the crust.

Swirly time.

Sprinkle the other half of the crumble mixture over the top.

Two layers of streusel.  Now, aren't you lucky?

After baking, allow to cool and set a little and then cut into bars.  (Note, they are supposed to be gooey.  Bring on the goo).

Ms. PW suggests serving the bars chilled from the fridge, but I like them room temperature and more gooey.   However you choose to eat them, the forecast is bound to be sunny.

And in case you missed it above, find the recipe here.