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For weeks, I’ve had this bright idea to make a baked good that remind me of a whiskey hot toddy. They would be lemon bars, with liquor and honey! And a shortbread crust! God, you are so smart! I know!
But somehow this bright idea went from a simple whiskey-flavored lemon bar to weeks of testing and frustrations in the kitchen. First, the crust was too soft. Then the lemon mixture didn’t set right. The whole bar itself was too tart, too rich, too sweet. The pre-baked crust shrank in the oven while it baked, spilling the lemon filling I’d carefully poured in all over the floor of the oven, which was a lot of fun to clean up. Remember when I made these cookies? The whole process was starting to feel like that. A natural baker, I am not.
But oh, do I love baking. It’s such a soothing act to aerate flours, to methodically measure out ingredients. I love taking essentially a pan of gloop, putting it in a hot oven, and 20 minutes later withdrawing some gorgeous loaf of quickbread or cake. Baking truly is alchemy.
It took me at least four attempts to get these bars exactly as I wanted them. I’m half proud, half embarrassed at that insane length of time. But oh-so worth the wait. They’re honey-sweet but not cloying, tart but not sour, and rich but not decadent. The whiskey cooks off into a mellow flavor, and the whole thing tastes like a hot toddy that you can hold in the palm of your hand. Or smother in powdered sugar and eat straight out of the pan, it’s up to you. Know that there are no judgements here.
But oh, do I love baking. It’s such a soothing act to aerate flours, to methodically measure out ingredients. I love taking essentially a pan of gloop, putting it in a hot oven, and 20 minutes later withdrawing some gorgeous loaf of quickbread or cake. Baking truly is alchemy.
It took me at least four attempts to get these bars exactly as I wanted them. I’m half proud, half embarrassed at that insane length of time. But oh-so worth the wait. They’re honey-sweet but not cloying, tart but not sour, and rich but not decadent. The whiskey cooks off into a mellow flavor, and the whole thing tastes like a hot toddy that you can hold in the palm of your hand. Or smother in powdered sugar and eat straight out of the pan, it’s up to you. Know that there are no judgements here.
Fourth time is apparently the charm, right?
Whiskey Lemon Bars Recipe
Ingredients
for the crust:
- 1 cup unbleached, all-purpose flour
- 2 tablespoons sugar
- 6 tablespoons chilled butter, cut into a small dice
- 1/4 cup ice-cold filtered water
- 1/4 cup salt (omit if you are using salted butter)
for the lemon filling:
- 2 eggs, lightly whisked
- 1/4 cup sugar
- 1/4 cup white all-purpose flour
- 1/4 teaspoon baking powder
- 1/4 salt
- 1/3 cup freshly squeezed lemon juice (about 2-3 lemons)
- 1/3 cup whiskey
- 1/3 cup honey
Instructions
for the crust:
- Sift the flour and sugar together into a large bowl. Add the diced butter and, using two forks or a pastry whisk, mix to combine. The dough will have a shaggy look when the butter and flour are fully mixed together. Add the water a little bit at a time, (you may not need all of it), incorporating it into the dough until you can form the dough into one big ball. Wrap the dough in cling film and let sit in the refrigerator for one hour or up to overnight. .
- After the dough has chilled for at least one hour, remove it from the refrigerator and unwrap the cling film. Preheat the oven to 350*F.
- Sprinkle your work surface with flour and place the dough on the flour, gently flattening it out with the palm of your hand. Turn the dough over to coat the other side with flour, then lightly flour a rolling pin and roll the dough out to about ⅓ of an inch- the same thickness as about 2 stacked quarters.
- Gently place the dough in the bottom of a fluted pastry pan and trim or scrunch the edges as desired. Try to not to let the sides of the crust get too thick. Gently prick the dough all over with the tines of a fork.Bake for 25 minutes, or until the crust has just started to brown.
for the lemon filling:
- While the crust is baking, whisk together the sugar, flour, baking powder and salt in a medium sized bowl. Slowly incorporate the eggs, then the honey, then the whiskey and the lemon juice. Set aside.
- When the crust is ready, remove from the oven and set on a baking sheet. Carefully pour the lemon mixture into the crust, taking care not to let any of the mixture come up over the sides of the crust. Carefully place the baking sheet in the center of the oven.
- Bake for 30 minutes, or until the crust has browned and a testing stick comes out clean when inserted into the center. Allow to cool slightly, then dust with cinnamon and powdered sugar. Slice into bars and serve.
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