Preheat oven to 350-degrees. Line an 8x8 inch baking dish with foil leaving an overhang around the edges. Lightly spray the foil with non-stick cooking spray.
In a medium mixing bowl, whisk together one cup flour and ¼ cup powdered sugar.
Melt the butter and add to the flour mixture. Stir together until combined.
Press the dough evenly into the bottom of the prepared baking dish. Bake for 15 minutes.
While the crust is baking, make the lemon filling. In a medium mixing bowl, whisk together the granulated sugar, 2 tablespoons flour, and baking powder.
Add the eggs and stir until combined. Stir in the lemon juice and zest.
Pour the filling mixture over the baked layer. Bake for 25 minutes.
Remove from oven and allow to cool on a wire rack.
Lift the cooled lemon bars out of the baking dish and cut into 16 squares.
Sprinkle the remaining ¼ cup powdered sugar over the bars.
Serve and enjoy!
Notes
Use fresh lemon juice and zest. Bottled lemon juice has its place, but you won’t get the same bright, sunny, flavor you get from fresh lemons.
Grate the lemons first to remove the zest before juicing them. Roll the lemons back and forth on the counter for a couple of minutes pressing down firmly with the palm of your hand. This will help break down the lemons and allow you to get more juice out of each one.
Line an 8x8 baking dish with foilto make it easier to remove the dessert in one piece. Lightly spraying the foil with cooking spray keeps the foil from sticking to the bottoms of the lemon squares.
Dust the tops of the lemon squares with a little or a lot of the powdered sugar depending on your preference. I like to completely coat the tops with the sugar, but you will still get the sweet flavor, if you prefer to lightly dust the tops.