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These Yummy Lemon Bars were brought to the kickoff meeting of the Chehalem Mountain Artists
at Kris Paul's home |
Yummy Lemon Bars
Vicki Joslyn
Makes about two dozen 1-1/2 to
2-inch squares
The Crust
1 3/4 cups all-purpose flour
2/3 cup confectioners’ sugar --
plus extra for garnishing
1/4 cup cornstarch
3/4 teaspoon salt
12 tablespoons unsalted butter
(1 1/2 sticks) at very cool room temperature, cut into 1” pieces
Lemon Filling
4 large eggs -- beaten lightly
1 1/3 cups granulated sugar
3 tablespoons all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons finely grated zest
2/3 cup fresh lemon juice
1/3 cup half and half or whole milk
1/8 teaspoon salt
NOTE: The lemon filling must be added to a warm crust. The
30-minute chilling and 20-minute baking of the crust should allow plenty of
time to prepare the filling. Any leftover bars can be sealed in plastic wrap
and refrigerated for up to two days.
Directions
Preheat oven to 350°F.
Line a 9x13 inch metal pan with
foil. Spray the foil with cooking spray and set aside.
Crust:
1. Pulse flour, powdered sugar,
cornstarch, and salt in food processor. Add butter and process to blend, 8 to
10 seconds, then pulse until coarse.
2. Pour what will seem like a
very dry mixture into lined pan and press over pan bottom and up sides about
½”.
3. Refrigerate for 30 minutes.
While it chills, you can make the filling.
4. Bake the pre-chilled crust
for 18-20 minutes or until edges are very lightly browned.
Filling:
1. Lightly whisk the eggs,
sugar, and flour together in a bowl. Add lemon juice, lemon zest, half and
half, and salt and mix well.
2. Reduce oven temperature to
325°F. Stir filling again, then pour filling over the warm crust.
3. Bake for 20 minutes or until
filling no longer appears wet and shaky.
4. Set on a wire rack and cool
to room temperature. Lift from pan, place on cutting board, and cut into bars wiping
knife or pizza cutter clean between cuts, as needed.
5. Dust with
confectioners’ sugar.
I specialize in thrown and hand built fine porcelain that has been burnished to a soft polished surface that
is fired in a Naked Raku firing. The firing process is a dance between the porcelain and the carbon
atmosphere and it is not until they emerge from the reduction chamber that I know how the surface will
appear. There are distinct subtleties within each individual piece that emerge through the process of
manipulating the clay.
“I approach ceramics with a design aesthetic of wabi-sabi. To transform raw clay into a piece that reflects the imperfect beauty
found in nature is my greatest pleasure. My early influence was my Mother who specialized in black & white photography and
as a young girl I would work in her darkroom, transferring her photos from tray to tray, watching the images captured on film
come to life. The purity of black & white has kept me captivated and translating that into my work has been my passion.
Vicki Joslyn - Glass
"A lump of clay is to me what a blank canvas is to a painter. There is a form in there waiting to get out.
And if this isn't enough of a challenge, there is always the struggle between the glaze and the fire. It reminds me of a parent sending a child out into the world. You've taught it everything you could. Now it's up to them to sink or swim. You've formed the clay, calculated and applied the glazes, and released the vessel to the fire.
