thecookieblogger.com

i have a long history of feeding theatre people… back when i was a company manager in regional and summer stock theatre, i fed dinner to actors and crew between shows on two-show days. i kept coffee brewed, round-the-clock meals served and energy levels up for stagehands working non-stop during load-outs and changeovers. i fed opening night audience members mingling with stars of the show with elaborate dinner and dessert buffets. and i often fed underpaid and overworked crew members just to keep their spirits up and be reassured that they were vital to the company. i even kept the post office busy shipping cookies around the country to road show crews who were a long way from home and grateful for some home-baked goodness.

one of my favorite traditions of baking for the crew during show load-out continues even to this day…on load-out days at my husband’s theatre, i lay out a spread of home-baked goods for them to enjoy during their coffee breaks. they seem to enjoy it, and it makes me feel like i’ve done a small part to support the arts!

here’s a picture of today’s spread. it’s not fancy, but the table’s chock full of good stuff. and i’ve found over the years that one of the most-requested cookies by stagehands the world over seem to be lemon bars. lemon bars always make me think tea parties, but stagehands just love these things. i think it may have to do with their moms making them when they were growing up. whatever the reason, these are really easy to make, and the result is just yummy. and they are as comfortable on a crew load-out snack table as they are on elegant china at an afternoon tea!

lemon bars
ingredients:
for crust:
1 1/2 cups flour
1/2 cup powdered sugar
3/4 cup (1 1/2 sticks) unsalted butter, softened

for filling:
4 eggs
1 1/2 cups baker’s sugar
1/2 cup fresh lemon juice
2 tablespoons flour
2 1/2 teaspoons grated lemon peel

instructions:
1. preheat oven to 350°F. prepare your baking pan by lining a 13x9x2-inch baking pan with parchment paper, extending paper up sides of pan; set aside.
2. mix crust ingredients in a large bowl on low speed of your mixer until mixture is crumbly. Press the mixture evenly into the parchment-lined pan.
3. bake for 20 minutes or until light brown; remove from oven.
4. with a whisk, beat together filling ingredients in a medium bowl until well blended; pour mixture evenly over warm baked crust. (do not let the crust cool down)
5. return to oven and bake for 17 minutes or until the filling is set and not jiggling and bars are brownish around the edges.
6. remove from oven and cool completely on a wire rack. lift edges of parchment paper and remove bars from pan. pull away parchment for easy cutting – use a very cutting board and very sharp knife – and clean off your knife in between cuts since the lemon filling sometimes sticks to the knife and makes for messy cuts!
7. sprinkle with powdered sugar and cut into bars.
enjoy!!!
yield: about 24 medium-sized bars.

Makes 36-40 servings.