MARTHA’S LEMON BARS VERSUS AUNT GAIL’S LEMON BARS
I love homemade lemon bars–who doesn't? Traditionally in my family, we have always used a tried and true recipe from my Aunt Gail. Recently, Carol challenged this tradition by using Martha Stewart's lemon bar recipe. She felt is was better. After much debate about the attributes of each recipe, we decided to have a lemon bar throw down–Martha vs. Aunt Gail.
Aunt Gail's lemon bar. (my pan was a little large, so they should be a bit thicker)
Marthas.
We had several expert tasters on hand to try the end result. (mostly a group of Jane's friends)
The winner hands down is–Aunt Gail. They were both good, but Martha's was a little rich for my taste, and much more complicated to make. Even Carol agreed that Aunt Gail's crust was far superior.
AUNT GAIL'S LEMON BARS
Preheat oven to 350 degrees
CRUST
1 cup all purpose flour
1/2 cup of butter (1 stick)
1/4 cup powered sugar
Add sugar to butter, then flour. Mix well. Press evenly into 8" square pan. Bake 20 minutes.
FILLING
2 eggs
1 cup sugar
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
2 tablespoons of lemon juice
a little lemon zest
Beat all ingredients together, and pour into baked crust. Return to oven and bake 20 minutes longer. Do not over bake. Let cool, then dust with powered sugar and cut into squares.
Sorry Martha!
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- ORANGE CHOCOLATE CHIPPERS
- New Years Day Snack
- ZUCCHINI FRITTERS
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- Comments (44)
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- Posted at 8:35am
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yummy sounds supereasy! Will try it for sure!!!
xxx
http://gypsy-diaries.blogspot.com/
mm mm mmmm thank you!!!
011690970
It looks so great!! May I ask you how many flour did you put for the crust please? (I can’t find it)… Thank you very much for this lovely receipt, I’m going to make one tomorrow!!
My mistake–I corrected the flour omission.
my husband makes delicious lemon bars. i’m not sure where he got the recipe but i know it’s a complicated one. i’ll pass on your aunt gail’s recipe for him to try!
i’ve used a lot of martha’s recipes through the years- i have found many of them to be quite involved.
Wow that’s pretty ballsy of Carol to challenge a family recipe!! Glad family won. My hubby LOVES lemon bars so I’ll be trying this out for sure.
My mother’s lemon bar recipe is the same! My mother has discovered though, through some experimentation, that they are even better when you double the lemon juice and cut the sugar (for the filling, not the crust) in half. More lemony, and still very sweet. If ever in need of another lemon bar showdown you should try this modification!
mmmmmm. i want to make these now!
Jane, more movie recommendations,pleassee
Omgosh, I love lemon bars! Thanks for sharing this recipe! Wow, this recipe throwdown sounds like so much fun and I’m sure delicious. Lucky Jane and friends:)
TheOwlsCloset.blogspot.com
I so wish I could have been on the tasting committee! They look wonderful!
http://lachicmenagerie.blogspot.com
I am going to bake these. Lemons are the best ingredient- love it that you can shove them in sweet and savoury things, plus they always look nice in bowls scattered about the traps.
I love lemon bars!!! I’ve been making them for years. Now I must try your Aunt Gail’s recipe. It looks way easier than how I have known to make it, and it looks really good.
Thanks for posting yet another delicious looking recipe. I am very excited to try this one as it seems like I can tackle with little trouble as I’m not very experienced in the kitchen yet (>__<)
That’s it, I did it!!!… It is terrible, I LOVE it!!! really perfect , so easy to make and sooo tasty with a cup of tea, thank you very much for sharing this family treasure! (I’ve just put half less sugar for the filling and double lemon as Noël suggested… I like to taste more the lemon, and I confirm: it is awesome!
).
XX
Aoi.
Used to adore these lemon bars–bought them on my lunch hour at a little shop near Bryant Park. Then once I learned to make them, they suddenly lost their appeal. But perhaps it’s time to try again . . .
I have the same lemon bar recipe as your Aunt Gail! Mine has been handed down from my mom and it is delicious and very easy.
wow!!! doos looks amazing! great photos!
thelibertybelleblog.blogspot.com
i love lemon bars they are such a yummy treat!!! thanks for this!!
http://www.shoelosophy.blogspot.com/
I baked these today and really likied them but here in Australia we would call this a lemon slice. Don’t ask me why, we just would. Anyway I added some lime juice and zest and I think this was a nice touch.
Made last night for a BBQ today- but SOMEHOW half are already missing… Thanks Aunt Gail
Judy, don’t know why I cant get my email to work, but wanted to comment on the pics that Jane posted. The one of you holding her when she was one, she now looks exactly as you did when you were younger! And they are the most beautiful children that I have ever laid eyes on! Jane looks like a young Lindsey Lohan. The yellow ski jacket she posted is to die for on her!!! You have a beautiful, beautiful family, Judy!
FIrst of all, I LOVE lemon bars. It is surprisingly difficult to find good ones. Usually they taste too sweet or buttery…I don’t know how to describe it, but I usually make them myself when I want some. Thanks for sharing your recipe
I wanted to let you know that I made these bars when a group of friends came over last night and they were attacked, so very good! Thank you for the suggestion!
looks yummy xxx
Oh, these sound (and look!) fantastic…lemon is always a good thing in my book!
Thanks for sharing Aunt Gail’s winning recipe! I like Martha, but truly, sometimes her recipes ARE a bit too involved and overdone for my taste too.
I love lemon bars. They always seem really sweet to me. Not that I mind sweet, but lots of sugar usually makes me feel cuckoo then crummy. Have you ever tried any of Bethenny Frankel’s recipes? I’m crazy for her Banana Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Cookie recipe. I put less sugar than her & more chocolate chips than she calls for. Anyway, it’s in her book Naturally Thin. (I gained 5 lbs after reading the book, though. HA!).
Judy, I to loved seeing the photos of you, the girls and a handful of dogs. Back then I just thought you were a rescue person with a lot of talent and exceptional style. Lovely!
KIMBERLY,
Thank you for the nice comment!
here is so many inspirations!
have a nice time!
Paula
I love following your blog. Specially your recipes
That post you’ve put on potato and goat cheese piza is something I really wants to try…
I love following your blog. Really cool. And specially those recipes of yours. Ive been wanting to make that potato pizza of yours, ever since Ive seen it on your blog.
amazing!
http://thestylespotter.blogspot.com/
wow great great post so fresh
god they are so yummy love love xx
Made your aunt’s recipe last night, but with the sugar reduction/lemon increase suggested by Noël and they were fantastic! SO glad I used less sugar and more lemon juice in the filling, they were so tangy yet very sweet. My husband loved them too, I have a feeling I’ll be making these delicious lemon bars quite often from now on!
Iva–so glad you liked them!!
Thanks for sharing your family recipe!
I just wanted to say I made these yesterday and they were lovely (!) although the lemony bit wasn’t as firm as I expected even after a bit of refrigeration… what might I have done wrong…?
I use a very smiliar reciepie as Aunt Gail and they are super deilsh!
Aunt Gail FTW! A fantastic cook! I remember a childhood visit.. I chipped my tooth on the playground behind the house. Her Chicken Spaghetti made me feel better
tried the recipe yesterday, and they’re gone already! fabulous!
my colleague showed me your recipe this afternoon and enticed me to make them. i just made them at 10pm and we ate half of it by 12am with some ice cream. thanks very much for the recipe!
wow! I can’t wait to try this. Possibly Friday!
Thanks for the showdown between Martha and your Aunt.
Loving your Blog!
xx
Suzanne