an avowed fan

January 13 2011 by Kristin at The Kitchen Sink in Dessert,Recipe » 29 comments

One of my favorite posts to date deals with a subject near to my heart: bars. You know—the type of cookie that is baked in a single layer and then sliced into bars. Not squares. Not bites. Not (worst of all) surprises. But, bars. Pronounced, preferably, in a strong Minnesota accent—the kind you’re most likely to hear in the northerly reaches of the state, which also happen to be locations where, in my experience, such bars are ubiquitous. Say, Hibbing or Grand Marais or Grand Rapids or Duluth. I was born in the last of these towns and have family that lives near the second and third. Which is to say that I am kind of expert on the charm of the Minnesota accent. And, of course, I am also an avowed fan of the bar.

For all of this love of bars (the cookie kind, that is—the off-sale establishments in the aforementioned towns are the subject of another post), you may be surprised to learn that I’ve never made lemon bars, a classic version of the bar by any measure. And, while it’s likely that I’ve at least eaten a lemon bar in the past (perhaps at a potluck, or maybe a post-church coffee hour?), if I did, I don’t remember doing so.

Upon realizing this oversight and suddenly fearful that my born-and-bred-Minnesotan card would be revoked, last weekend I set about expanding my bar repertoire to include the much-loved lemon version. I had a huge bowl of citrus on the counter, which included a goodly number of lemons—meyer and regular. The flour canister, however, was nearly empty. On top of it slumped a big sack of hazelnuts, which had been purchased in a fit of December overconfidence, for a Christmas baking project that was quickly abandoned. (Nougat, I guess, will have to wait until next year.) My stock of butter was also depleted.

So, it would be a half-meyer/half-regular lemon bar, with a hazelnut-based crust that was relatively short on butter. My only other requirement was powdered sugar. A liberal dusting of that, I knew, was non-optional.

After a bit of research, I mashed together several recipes to meet the criteria outlined above. It has you whir together those hazelnuts (toasted and fragrant) with a bit of flour (in my case, the dregs from the canister), sugar, a pinch of salt, and an amount of butter (one stick) that is downright restrained in comparison to other recipes I’ve seen. This is pressed into the bottom of a square cake tin and baked until golden. Then, you pour a lemon-egg-sugar mixture on top of the still-hot crust. While this bakes briefly, the bars take shape—the rich, nutty base layer fades imperceptibly into a thick, creamy, zingy lemon layer. The bars cool completely, chill, and are sliced and showered with that non-optional powdered sugar.

I’m happy to report that this lemon bar is a lovely addition to my repertoire. I only wish I could throw a potluck and invite you all to see for yourselves (provided, of course, you agreed to show up with bars of your own).

Lemon-Hazelnut Bars

For the Crust:
1 cup toasted hazelnuts
1/4 cup flour
1/4 cup sugar
1/4 teaspoon salt
8 tablespoons butter, chilled and diced

For the Filling:
4 eggs
1 1/2 cups sugar
3/4 cup freshly-squeezed lemon juice (I used a combination of meyer and regular lemons)
1/3 cup flour

To Make the Crust:

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Butter an 8-inch square baking pan, line with parchment paper, and butter the parchment paper.

In the bowl of a food processor fitted with a steel blade, pulse the hazelnuts until finely chopped. In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, sugar and salt. Add the flour mixture to the food processor and pulse several times until combined. Add the chilled butter and pulse until the dough comes together. Chill the dough for five minutes. Press the dough into the prepared pan. Bake for 17 to 19 minutes, until the crust is set and golden brown.

To Make the Filling:

While the crust bakes, whisk together the eggs and lemon juice. Whisk in lemon juice and flour. Add this mixture to the hot crust. Decrease the oven heat to 300 degrees. Bake the bars for 30 minutes, until set. Cool completely in the pan. Chill for at least an hour before slicing and serving.

29 comments so far. »
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Jessica @ How Sweet says on January 13 2011 at 7:36 am:

Oh how I love hazelnuts. I bet these bars are incredible.
laura @ alittlebarefoot says on January 13 2011 at 8:32 am:

i love lemon bars, and i love hazelnuts – never thought of combining the two! this sounds amazing.
helping the thaw Running With Tweezers says on January 13 2011 at 8:35 am:

[...] Lemon Hazelnut Bars from The Kitchen Sink Recipes that made me think of the ones my mom used to [...]
sally says on January 13 2011 at 8:44 am:

Lemon bars just might be my favorite dessert. I’ve never thought of making a hazelnut crust though. Looks fantastic!
Heather (Heather's Dish) says on January 13 2011 at 12:25 pm:

this sounds like the best version of lemon bars ever! i love the hazelnut crust – such great depth of flavor!
Karen says on January 13 2011 at 12:33 pm:

I make lemon bars regularly, but always of the non-hazelnut, loads-of-butter variety. (Can you really make lemon bars with only one stick of butter??) These sound like a wonderful variation that I’ll have to try soon!!
Jacqui says on January 13 2011 at 1:48 pm:

I was never a lemon bar person until I had a homemade from scratch one. These sound delicious with a hazelnut crust!
Kim says on January 13 2011 at 2:46 pm:

This sounds like the perfect thing to make this weekend with my new food processor!
Natanya @ Fete & Feast says on January 13 2011 at 5:23 pm:

For some reason when I think of bars I think of carrying food (as my grandmother would have said) to people. Maybe it’s because bars travel so easily and can be cut into a variety of sizes, but she always made bar cookies when she needed something sweet to take to someone. I love hazelnuts and lemon and hadn’t thought of putting them together. Adding these to my “to try” list for which I’m sure my co-workers will be forever grateful.
shannalee says on January 13 2011 at 6:44 pm:

Have you ever seen the movie “Drop Dead Gorgeous”? There’s this classic part where Kirstie Alley, in Minnesota accent, offers for everyone to “help yourself to some coffee and bars”… oh, your post made me think of that and laugh. Love Minnesotan humor. : )
heather @ chiknpastry says on January 14 2011 at 12:09 pm:

i’ve never made a lemon bar, either. but since i’m not a minnesotan, i figure it’s ok! these look lovely, and i’m a huge fan of the meyer lemon .
Megsie says on January 15 2011 at 8:21 am:

Oh, I am coming! I will bring chocolate chip bars! They are my standby here in “the cities.”
ingrid says on January 16 2011 at 8:18 pm:

Any one who knows me will tell you….I LOVE bars! Lemon bars rank right up there. Your version with hazelnuts looks like a delighful change to them.
~ingrid
Barbara says on January 17 2011 at 7:14 am:

Super combo, Kristin! I’ve always preferred bars to cookies anyway and lemon is my favorite. Love the hazelnuts in the crust!
emily says on January 17 2011 at 5:21 pm:

I just love love love hazelnuts! The states don’t appreciate them enough. Nice non-traditional touch to the familiar lemon bar.
Avanika (Yumsilicious Bakes) says on January 18 2011 at 5:29 am:

Ahh hazelnut flour! These ‘bars’ are sure to be awesome!! I hate the million different names for everything, so I change the name according to who I’m giving to
Mrs. Currie says on January 18 2011 at 5:54 pm:

I just made these bars and they were terrific. I did not have quite enough lemon juice (my 3 lemons yielded just under 3/4 cup juice) but they worked out well anyway.
Maria says on January 19 2011 at 9:08 pm:

Lemon desserts are my favorite. Can’t wait to make these!
Sissi says on January 20 2011 at 7:25 am:

Thank you for this great recipe! I saw it exactly at the moment I am crazy for lemon sweets (actually the moment lasts for at least a month). I made the bars yesterday. First, they were incredibly easy to make. Secondly, even though I have messed up the ingredients and added only half of the lemons’ amount, it was simply wonderful! My husband loved it (the first cake with lemons he really appreciates), but I missed a bit the exciting acid note… They were not as beautifully yellow as yours (too few lemons of course…), so the photos and posting will have to wait for the next, more lemony version (not that my photos will be half as good as yours of course!). I am wondering why I have discovered your blog only this week… I am tempted by so many of your recipes, and the photos are so beautiful! I must also say your blog is one of the rare cooking related blogs where I actually learn new words and expression (I am not an English native speaker of course). Your vocabulary is extremely rich, imaginative and I found myself reading some posts just for the pleasure of reading… Such a rare experience on internet (not only culinary). I am impressed.
brilynn says on January 20 2011 at 3:15 pm:

Love the hazelnut-lemon combo!
Sylvie @ Gourmande in the Kitchen says on January 22 2011 at 3:34 am:

Making a lemon bar with half-meyer/half-regular lemons is a great idea. You get the best of both worlds that way since the tang of the regular lemons is balanced out by the milder floral notes of the meyer lemons.
mjb says on January 22 2011 at 2:01 pm:

I’m from MN too, and while this looks so good I had to comment on how tough it would have been to find hazlenuts in my town! Fancy
Natasha @ Saved by the Egg Timer says on January 23 2011 at 5:14 pm:

I have leftover hazelnuts from Christmas and was wondering what to do with them….perfect! Lemons in season (check), hazelnuts (check). But I had to laugh because I got my Hazelnuts at Fleet Farm and if your from MN you are laughing right now Not ashamed….not ashamed at all.
emily says on January 23 2011 at 5:19 pm:

hazelnuts are my favorite! too bad nutella doesn’t go with this dish…
Damaris @Kitchen Corners says on January 28 2011 at 11:42 pm:

I too am all about bars. Yours look specially beautiful.
Girl in the Mini says on February 01 2011 at 8:18 pm:

this is sooo good!
Marianne says on February 03 2011 at 11:33 pm:

This combines some of my favourite things – lemon and hazelnut – into one fabulous looking bar.
steph (whisk/spoon) says on February 06 2011 at 2:16 pm:

i know too much about december baking overconfidence! good way to put those hazelnuts to use. for a first time lemon bar maker, looks like you’ve come up with a winner!
Sissi says on February 18 2011 at 6:56 am:

I have made these bars once more (this time I have put the right amount of lemon juice – they were beautiful and yellow and a bit tangy) and must say the healthier, wholemeal flour-version of the hazelnut crust tastes even better! Thanks once more!