Lemon Bars

Source: the Better Homes and Gardens New Cookbook (14th Edition)

Ingredients:
for the crust:
2 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 cup powdered sugar
2 Tablespoons cornstarch
1/4 teaspoon salt
3/4 cup butter

for the filling:
4 eggs, slightly beaten
1 1/2 cups granulated sugar
3 Tablespoons all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon finely shredded lemon peel (I didn't have any lemons, so I skipped this)
3/4 cup lemon juice (I used bottled stuff, but I bet fresh would be even better)
1/4 cup half-and-half, light cream or milk (I used milk)

Powdered sugar for sprinkling on top

Directions:
Preheat oven to 350F.  Grease a 13x9x2-inch pan.  In a bowl, combine the flour, powdered sugar, cornstarch, and salt.  Using a pastry blender (or a fork or two knives - or a combination of forks and knives, like me), cut in butter until mixture resembles course crumbs.  Press mixture into the bottom of prepared pan.  Bake 18-20 minutes, or until edges are golden.

Meanwhile, for filling, in a medium bowl stir or whisk together filling ingredients.  Pour filling over hot crust and return the pan to the oven to bake for 15-20 minutes more, or until center is set.

Cool completely in pan on a wire rack.  Sift with powdered sugar.  Cut into bars.  Cover and store in the fridge.

Makes 36 bars (if you cut them really tiny - I think we'll get more like 18 out of this pan).

Notes:
I've been noticing lemony recipes popping up all over lately and finally decided today after Kim's post of lemon cookies that I couldn't just let them pass me by any more.  I settled on these lemon bars mostly because I wasn't in the mood for cookies, exactly, and I didn't have all the ingredients required for the roughly twenty other recipes for things like cheesecake lemon bars and such that I considered.  These hit the lemony-dessert spot just fine, though.  And bonus - they didn't taste and/or smell like the hot pots in Yellowstone*!

(*Background story: The first time my sister and I attempted to make lemon bars years ago resulted in a complete disaster of sulfuric proportions.  To this day we still don't know what we did wrong to create such an awful stench, but it has taken me till now to attempt making homemade lemon bars again.)