Pucker Up

          I'm not usually a huge lemon square person. I would usually opt for a brownie or something instead. But I saw this recipe and it looked so good I just had to try it -- and I'm sure glad I did! These Lemon Squares have the perfect balance of sweetness and freshly bright tartness from the lemon. The thin shortbread crust is satisfyingly crunchy, a welcome contrast to the silky smooth lemon layer. I found these in Cooking Light Magazine and sometimes they do a recipe makeover by taking a traditional and common recipe that is usually high in calories and fat and drastically lightening it up. These squares have less than half the calories and fat than traditional lemon square recipes and 3/4 less sugar! And the best part is that you'd never know the difference. They taste as indulgent as they look!


Yield: 16 squares, 124 calories each


Ingredients:

• 3 2/5 ounces all-purpose flour (about 3/4 cup)
• 1/4 cup powdered sugar
• 3 tablespoons pine nuts, toasted and coarsely chopped
• 1/8 teaspoon salt
• 2 tablespoons chilled unsalted butter, cut into small pieces
• 2 tablespoons canola oil
• Cooking spray
• 3/4 cup granulated sugar 
• 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
• 1 teaspoon grated lemon rind 
• 1/2 cup fresh lemon juice 
• 2 large eggs 
• 1 large egg white 
• 2 tablespoons powdered sugar

Directions: 

1.      1. Preheat oven to 350°.
2.      2. Weigh or lightly spoon flour into dry measuring cups; level with a knife. Place flour, 1/4 cup powdered sugar, pine nuts, and salt in a food processor; pulse 2 times to combine. Add butter and canola oil. Pulse 3 to 5 times or until mixture resembles coarse meal. Place mixture into the bottom of an 8-inch square glass or ceramic baking dish coated with cooking spray; press into bottom of pan. Bake at 350° for 20 minutes or until lightly browned. Reduce oven temperature to 325°.
3.      3. Combine granulated sugar and next 5 ingredients (through egg white) in a medium bowl, stirring with a whisk until smooth. Pour mixture over crust. Bake at 325° for 20 minutes or until set. Remove from oven, and cool completely in pan on a wire rack. Cover and chill for at least 2 hours. Sprinkle squares evenly with 2 tablespoons powdered sugar.

Tips:

• Toasting the pine nuts for the shortbread crust really amps up the flavor, so don't skip this step. Just throw the pine nuts into a non-stick skillet and toast over medium heat for about five minutes, or until they become fragrant and lightly browned, shaking the skillet occasionally to move the nuts around. Watch them closely, though. They can burn easily and turn bitter.
• I have found that when baking bars of any kind, lining the baking pan with aluminum foil saves you clean-up hassle and makes the bars easier to cut into squares. After you line the baking pan with foil, spray with cooking spray and pour the batter into the pan. Once the bars are out of the oven and cooled, remove the aluminum foil with the bars inside and peel away the foil. Now you have a perfectly flat surface on which to cut your bars -- no digging into the baking pan at weird angles and getting ugly-shaped bars!
• Do no over bake the crust. I followed the bake time for the recipe and the crust didn't really brown that much but I stopped baking it anyway. If you try to bake the crust until it really browns, you'll end up over baking it, making it tough and crumbly.
• Wait to sprinkle with powdered sugar until you are ready to serve; otherwise, the powdered sugar will just melt into the square and not look as pretty.
• I would recommend making these squares the day you plan to eat them. I had one the day I made them and they were perfectly smooth with a crunchy crust. I ate one the next day after it had sit overnight in the fridge and they were still delicious, but the crust wasn't quite as crisp. If you don't mind this, they can keep several days in the fridge. You can also freeze them for up to 3 months. Learn how here:  http://www.ehow.com/how_8236005_freeze-lemon-bars.html .