"lemon bars" news and stories

Jennifer's Persimmon Lemon Bars. Photo: The Skinny Chef

I was walking past my local fruit stand last week and spotted plump orange persimmons -- also called fruit of the gods. But what can you make with them?

Since I don't use persimmons very often, I decided to grab a few and see what summer treat I could come up with. Juicy tart lemons are a staple for me during the summer season and can be easily added to drinks, grilled seafood and everything in between.

As my neighbors had been asking me to bring those classic, tangy lemon bars to their weekend barbecue, I devised a fusion lemon bar that has the perkiness of lemon with the brilliant, creamy orange flesh of the persimmon.

Get Jennifer's Persimmon Lemon Bars recipe after the jump.

Lavender: So hot right now. Lavender.

1. Lavender Cupcakes from Chockylit (who sadly is no longer blogging). That makes this recipe worth more, right?

2. Pound Cake with Blueberries and Lavender Syrup from Epicurious

3. Amazing lavender cookies, jelly, cinnamon buns and more from Happy Valley Lavender

4. Lavender and Honey Salad Dressing from Sonoma Lavender.

5. Lavender Lemon Bars from recipezaar

6. Lavender Ice Cream from Philly food blog Straight from the Farm

7. Lavender Pizza dough, breakfast rolls and other sweet recipes from Napa Valley Lavender Co.

8. Lavender Limeade from Jardin du Soleil

Lemon bars are tricky things, though they seem deceptively simple. In theory, they consist of a tart, custardy layer on a shortbread-type base, but the vast majority of recipes miss the mark by miles, with fillings that are day-glo neon yellow, too hard, too soft, too tart or too sweet. The crusts tend to fare better than the fillings, but it can still be a challenge to get a good one when the filling actually turns out properly.

The only thing harder than making a really good batch of lemon bars is taking a picture of them. The yellow lemon filling and the pale yellow base do not make for much contrast, and since the bars are often topped with a coating of powdered sugar, you end up with something remarkably unphotogenic, no matter how good they look in person. I am please to say, however, that it looks like Lemon Bars were conquered by Sugar Delirium. Not only does her photo look fantastic, but the recipe for the bars sounds like it turns out a perfectly balanced treat.

Source