Glazed Lemon Poppyseed Bars

I think that lemon is a lovely flavor for spring, and I realized it has been a bit since I used it in a recipe. Now, I’ll be honest, I am not sure what season we are in as the weather varies so much. One day it is very rainy, the next day it is sunny. We have had days of pouring rain in the morning only to have sunshine in the afternoon. We have even had a couple of days in the mid-80s, which is too warm for the Seattle area.

This recipe I had to plan ahead before I made it. I sometimes have lemons around, but not this time. You also need to be careful with poppy seeds, as they go rancid really quickly. I didn’t want to check to see if mine were rancid, I simply added them to the grocery order last week. Trust me, you don’t want to taste things that are rancid. I try to buy the smallest container that I can, since I know they don’t last. I suppose I should store them in the refrigerator, but I never remember to do that.

These bars make a small number, but that’s ok. If you were planning on serving this to a larger group of folks, you could double the recipe and bake it in a 9” x 13” pan. The bars are very simple, you don’t quite mix everything together at the same time, but it’s pretty close. You do have to be patient and let the bars cool before adding the glaze, but that’s not too bad. My bars were a little strange, and I wondered if I had added too much butter. It was following the recipe so I’m not sure. Once glazed they looked great and have a wonderful lemon flavor.

Glazed Lemon Poppyseed Bars

1/2 cup butter, room temperature

3/4 cup sugar

2 eggs

1 tablespoon lemon juice

1/4 teaspoon salt

zest from 1/2 lemon

3/4 cup flour

1/2 tablespoon poppy seeds

1/2 cup powdered sugar

zest from 1/2 lemon

About 1 tablespoon lemon juice

Heat the oven to 350 degrees. Line an 8” square pan with foil and spray the foil with nonstick cooking spray.

In a large mixer bowl, beat the butter, sugar, eggs, lemon juice, salt, and lemon zest. Beat on medium until smooth. Add the flour and stir on low to combine. Stir in the poppy seeds by hand. Spread the mixture evenly in the prepared pan.

Bake for 18-22 minutes, until set in the middle. Allow to cool on a wire rack.

Once the bars are cool, make the glaze: in a small bowl, whisk together the powdered sugar, lemon zest, and enough lemon juice to make the glaze of a spreading consistency. Smooth the glaze over the bars and allow the glaze to set before cutting into bars.

Recipe from Practically Homemade