Lemon Sugar Cookie Bars from Five Heart Home

Lemon Sugar Cookie Bars - made June 17, 2023 from  Five Heart Home

2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour

1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder

1/2 teaspoon salt

1 tablespoon lemon zest

1 1/2 cups granulated sugar

1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, room temperature

2 large eggs

1 tablespoon lemon juice

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1/4 teaspoon lemon extract, optional

Topping

2 tablespoons granulated sugar

1 tablespoon sparkling sugar

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Line a 9 x 13 pan with foil and lightly spray with nonstick cooking spray.
2. In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder, salt and lemon zest.
3. In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat butter until creamy, 1-2 minutes. Add granulated sugar and beat on medium-high speed for 3 minutes or until light and fluffy. 
4. Add eggs, one at a time, mixing on low speed until combined then add lemon juice, vanilla extract and lemon extract until just combined.
5. Add dry ingredients in 2-3 additions, mixing on low speed until just combined. Spread batter in an even layer into prepared pan. Sprinkle evenly with granulated sugar and sparkling sugar.
6. Bake for 22 to 28 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean; do not overbake. Cool completely before cutting and serving.

This is a straightforward, easy-to-make sugar cookie in bar form, spiked with lemon flavor. I don't make sugar cookie bars that often as I prefer them in cookie form and bar cookies tend to be more cakey than I like.

But these were pretty good, nicely chewy and not too tart or lemony but still subtly flavored with lemon. If you want to amp up the lemon flavor, grate some extra zest into the batter and/or mix lemon zest with sugar and sprinkle over the top when baking. I didn't have sparkling sugar so I used regular granulated sugar but it would have been a little more extra with the larger sugar crystals. This is a good one for summer picnics since you don't have the worry about frosting melting and they're easy to stack, store and package.