Lemon Bar Bites

There just isn’t a comparison to Lemon Bars at our house.  It is the ultimate in cookie perfection.  The only downside is cutting and serving them so they look as good as they taste.  We were looking for an easy-to-serve lemon bar - and when we saw this idea, we had to try it.  Perfection - simplified.

Seriously... have you EVER been able to serve your lemon bars
so they look as perfect as these?  Delicious, but temperamental!

My daughters & daughters-in-law put together a baby shower last weekend for my daughter Melyn.  They were hoping to find a few bite-size treats to go along with a main dish salad, rolls, and other shower-fare.  Hands down - their favorite cookie is the traditional Lemon Bar.  But as much as we enjoy them, they are a bit of a challenge to get out of the pan in one piece to look beautiful on a serving platter.  

This is a little tool you can purchase from Pampered Chef
that helps form mini tarts in a mini-cupcake pan.

However, the handle of a wooden spoon (or other kitchen tool)
can do the same job easily.

Delicious shortbread-style tart shells
to hold the lemon filling.

This version (another great one from Barbara Bakes) may take just a bit more time to prepare initially, but is quick to finish up and serve as you need them.  We placed them in white mini-muffin cups, but they would be just as easy to pick up without.  

Each batch made about 40-42 mini bites, so we doubled the batch for our open house shower.  We took the leftovers to my newest granddaughter’s blessing the next day.  They were ALL inhaled.

My daughter loves anything chevron and the color grey.  Her husband is in the Air Force.
That's why her sisters & sisters-in-law decorated with paper airplanes, clouds, and maps.

Speaking of inhaling - my husband used to call Lemon Bars “Inhale-Nots”.  If you’ve ever enjoyed a cookie coated in powdered sugar, you’ve probably experienced accidentally inhaling as you take your first bite.  This sometimes causes you to breathe in a bit of the dusting of powdered sugar as you do so.  NOT a pleasant experience, but the danger of that diminishes when you realize how delicious they are.

I loved the lemon curd filling for these little bites.  Traditionally, lemon curd is time intensive and tedious.  But this method is so fast and virtually fail-proof.  It’s a method perfected by finecooking.com.  No tedious steps to prevent the curd from curdling, no straining, no adding hot liquid to the eggs to temper them.  

I prepared the cookie cups and the lemon curd separately and kept them on hand for putting together right before the shower.  Did you know you can freeze lemon curd as well?  It lasts for a month in your freezer, and since it doesn’t freeze solid - you can spoon out the exact amount you need.  

Serve these right after filling them for a crisp crust - but they refrigerate nicely, and don’t lose a lot of quality if you prefill them for convenience. 

You'll find the full recipe for both the cookie cups, as well as this easy lemon curd filling at:
www.changeabletable.com