LUCIOUS LEMON SQUARES

Fortunately, our tastes change as we age. When I think of all the foods I disliked as a child and young adult--lobster, peppers, broccoli, shrimp, liver pate, sour cream, and quite a few others--I am a little sad at all the missed opportunities. But happily I think I've made up for lost time with many of those foods and others. Lemons are another food that I shunned except for the occasional wedge in my diet Pepsi. I don't know what made me try my first slice of lemon meringue pie or my first lemon tart, but I've been a convert ever since. As much as I love key lime pie and tarts and cookies, I think that lemon curd has a richer, more sophisticated taste.

Since Larry has been running errands for me the past few days as I recover from an infection, I decided he needed a treat. These lemon bars are from Cooking Light. They are very easy to make and disappear quickly, so you may want to make a double batch.

Lemon Squares - 16 servings

Crust

1/4 cup granulated sugar

3 tbs unsalted butter

1 cup all-purpose flour

Topping

3 large eggs

3/4 cup granulated sugar

2 tsp grated lemon rind

1/3 cup fresh lemon juice

3 tbs all-purpose flour

1/2 tsp baking powder

1/8 tsp salt

powdered sugar

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. To prepare the crust, beat the sugar and butter at medium speed until creamy. Gradually add the flour until the mixture resembles fine crumbs. Gently press this mixture into the bottom of an 8 inch baking dish/pan. Bake at 350 degrees for 15 minutes. Cool on a wire rack for about 30 minutes.

To prepare the topping, beat the eggs until foamy. Add the sugar and the next 5 ingredients and beat until well blended. Pour this mixture over the cooled crust and bake at 350 degrees for 20-25 minutes. Cool on wire rack. Sift powdered sugar evenly over the top and cut into 16 squares.