Lemon Squares

Oh my but I'm exhausted after all the partying at the Bloggy Giveaway Carnival this week! I'm getting ready to post the final winner after I get this recipe up and linked to Saturday Stirrings. Sure do hope everyone who won something I gave away likes what I sent them! I made it an international offering with a batik, scarf and basket from Africa, a watercolor print from Ireland, and a mate cup and bombilla from Argentina. I haven't won anything yet but still have hopes that sometime today or tomorrow I'll get an e-mail saying that I won something, anything...pretty please with sugar on top?!

If I can't put sugar on the pretty please, I'll just have to put it on these Lemon Squares. OhMyGoodness, but these are yummy! I made them for the shower last Saturday. Very lemony, not too tart, not too sweet. Just right :-)

This is when we had most of the food on the table. People started arriving right after this and we never did get a shot of the finished table. Oh well. Anyway, the lemon squares were on either end of the table and in this picture you can see them in the front right corner.

Lemon squares just scream "SPRING!" to me for some reason. Maybe because spring is when all the yellow flowers seem to bloom: forsythia, tulips, daffodils...and yellow leads me to Lemon Squares. What? You think in a straight line and don't see the connection?

LEMON SQUARES
For the crust:
2 cups flour
16 Tablespoons of butter, unsalted and softened
1/2 cup confectioners' sugar
1/4 teaspoon salt
grated zest of one lemon
For the filling:
4 eggs
1-1/2 cups sugar
1/2 cup freshly squeezed lemon juice
1/4 cup flour
1/2 teaspoon double-acting baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt

3-4 Tablespoons of confectioners' sugar for sifting over top after they're baked.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. To make the crust, mix all ingredients in bowl or food processor until ball of dough forms. Wrap ball in plastic wrap and refridgerate until chilled to make handling dough easier. Press dough evenly onto bottom and 3/4 inch up sides of ungreased 9"x13" pan. Bake on middle rack of oven until lightly colored, about 15-20 minutes. Cool on wire rack while you make the filling. Leave oven set at 350 degrees.
To make the filling, beat eggs until light. Add the sugar gradually and continue beating on medium high speed until very light and airy, about 5 minutes. On low speed mix in lemon juice, flour, baking powder and salt just until combined.
Pour mixture over crust and bake until filling is set and light colored, about 25 minutes. Immediately sift confectioners' sugar over the top. Cool and cut into 24 squares.